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Lot Essay
The Montelatici family of Florence is credited with revitalizing the skill of painting in pietre dure, an art which had fallen into steady decline since the mid-19th century. The family firm was founded by Giovanni Montelatici (d. 1930) who went into business with Galileo Chini (d. 1957), an artist from Mugello, near Florence, and the two men exhibited jointly at the 1900 Exposition universelle, winning a gold medal for their large table inlaid with a scene of the Annunciation. Following the success in Paris, Montelatici established a large workshop, known as Arte Musiva, on the Via Arnolfo, appointing Chini as its artistic director. The business flourished during the early decades of the 20th century, when Montelatici was joined by his two sons Mario and Alfonso, and when foreign buyers were plenty.
Alfonso Montelatici (1880–1948) was the eldest of Giovanni’s two sons, and the most mysterious member of the family. Little biographical information is available about him but his nephew Metello recalls that he had an adventurous life and refused to work regularly in the family workshop. His presence alongside his father at Arte Musiva is documented by a period photograph showing him at his workbench, near one of his mosaics depicting a country dance. Well trained in the family business, Alfonso also demonstrated a unique flare in ‘painting’ in mosaic by undertaking unusually large compositions, favouring bold colors and themes of gallantry.
In the Gilbert Collection there is a picture by Alfonso measuring 45 x 35 in. and titled Flirtation, or Promises (Massinelli, op. cit., cat. No. 73). Like the present composition it depicts a tavern scene after the painter Francesco Vinea (d.1902). At the Fountain is a spectacular mosaic reproduction of a painting by the Florentine artist Egisto Ferroni (Florence, Pitti Palace, Galleria d’Arte Moderna). Alfonso Montelatici large panel after Aurelio Zingoni’s painting A Propensity for Studying depicts a scene of domestic life in a rural ambience, set in a typical nineteenth-century Tuscan farmhouse kitchen, sold Christie’s, London, 29 March 2007, lot 120 (£240,000).
Alfonso’s mosaics accentuate luminist and chiaroscuro effects through the color contrast of the stones rather than the use of nuancing. He shows unique sensitivity in his use of stones. Alfonso’s works are distinguished by his careful selection of natural striations in the stones and his broad splicing of the marbles. The pictorial effects are achieved through inclusions and natural veins he attentively sought in the stone. This masterly panel of A Game of Dice plays entirely on chiaroscuro effects achieved by alternating countless stones in shades of grey, red, and brown, nuancing to whites.
We are most thankful to Anna Maria Massinelli, author of the book entitled The Gilbert Collection - Hardstones, for her research.
Alfonso Montelatici (1880–1948) was the eldest of Giovanni’s two sons, and the most mysterious member of the family. Little biographical information is available about him but his nephew Metello recalls that he had an adventurous life and refused to work regularly in the family workshop. His presence alongside his father at Arte Musiva is documented by a period photograph showing him at his workbench, near one of his mosaics depicting a country dance. Well trained in the family business, Alfonso also demonstrated a unique flare in ‘painting’ in mosaic by undertaking unusually large compositions, favouring bold colors and themes of gallantry.
In the Gilbert Collection there is a picture by Alfonso measuring 45 x 35 in. and titled Flirtation, or Promises (Massinelli, op. cit., cat. No. 73). Like the present composition it depicts a tavern scene after the painter Francesco Vinea (d.1902). At the Fountain is a spectacular mosaic reproduction of a painting by the Florentine artist Egisto Ferroni (Florence, Pitti Palace, Galleria d’Arte Moderna). Alfonso Montelatici large panel after Aurelio Zingoni’s painting A Propensity for Studying depicts a scene of domestic life in a rural ambience, set in a typical nineteenth-century Tuscan farmhouse kitchen, sold Christie’s, London, 29 March 2007, lot 120 (£240,000).
Alfonso’s mosaics accentuate luminist and chiaroscuro effects through the color contrast of the stones rather than the use of nuancing. He shows unique sensitivity in his use of stones. Alfonso’s works are distinguished by his careful selection of natural striations in the stones and his broad splicing of the marbles. The pictorial effects are achieved through inclusions and natural veins he attentively sought in the stone. This masterly panel of A Game of Dice plays entirely on chiaroscuro effects achieved by alternating countless stones in shades of grey, red, and brown, nuancing to whites.
We are most thankful to Anna Maria Massinelli, author of the book entitled The Gilbert Collection - Hardstones, for her research.