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Lot Essay
The canvas is dominated by the wide, dramatic perspective of the street connecting Palermo to Monreale, in the hilly area to the South West of the city. Monreale was one of the favourite destinations of the Palermitani, eager to visit the splendid Duomo or Cathedral, a jewel of the Arabic-Norman culture which flourished in Sicily in the 13th Century.
The formal structure of the canvas is played around the contrast of filled and empty spaces - the hillside on the left, a dark chromatic mass animated by the vibrant dynamism of pilgrims and street-vendors, and the light, transparent sky on the right, leading the eye towards the pure marine landscape and the horizon. Unterberger splendidly takes advantage of such an original and firm structural composition, and frees his brushstroke in the minute description of the diverse people crowding the dusty street. The Strada Monreale becomes, thus, a unique stage for the performance of picturesque characters, all captured by Unterberger's unsurpassed pictorial bravura.
The artist has the unique ability to convey the brio of the street animation, whilst singling out the most colourful protagonists of the pilgrimage to Monreale: the pedlars, sitting under the shadow of a patchy tent, between the decadent ruins of a street-church and the facade of a dry fountain, and a woman and a priest, chatting on the stairs of the church. The priest's red parasol cast against the dark silk of his cloak epitomises Unterberger's exceptional sense of colour and unparalleled attentiveness to details.
The formal structure of the canvas is played around the contrast of filled and empty spaces - the hillside on the left, a dark chromatic mass animated by the vibrant dynamism of pilgrims and street-vendors, and the light, transparent sky on the right, leading the eye towards the pure marine landscape and the horizon. Unterberger splendidly takes advantage of such an original and firm structural composition, and frees his brushstroke in the minute description of the diverse people crowding the dusty street. The Strada Monreale becomes, thus, a unique stage for the performance of picturesque characters, all captured by Unterberger's unsurpassed pictorial bravura.
The artist has the unique ability to convey the brio of the street animation, whilst singling out the most colourful protagonists of the pilgrimage to Monreale: the pedlars, sitting under the shadow of a patchy tent, between the decadent ruins of a street-church and the facade of a dry fountain, and a woman and a priest, chatting on the stairs of the church. The priest's red parasol cast against the dark silk of his cloak epitomises Unterberger's exceptional sense of colour and unparalleled attentiveness to details.