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Lot Essay
A native of Naples, Vincenzo Irolli was considered a rising star in the Italian artistic community from a young age. At the Istituto di Belle Arti di Napoli he studied under Giocchino Toma and Federico Maldarelli, and aligned himself with Michetti's painterly style, while he drew his aggressive colour palette from Domenico Morelli and Antonio Mancini. In 1879 the young Irolli presented some of his paintings in his hometown of Naples. These works showcased his ability, particularly through his use of colour and thickly built up impasto, to capture the energetic character of Naples and its vibrant people. Throughout his long career the artist exhibited widely in Italy and abroad and expanded his repertory to include portrait painting, landscapes, and religious subject matter. Nevertheless, he remained most popular for his sensitive portrayal of genre scenes of Neapolitan life – images of local women and children, scenes of the life in the café, and his lively and bustling market scenes. Irolli left an important local and international legacy and remained active in the Neapolitan artistic community until his death at the age of eighty-nine.
A Woman and Child Sewing shows Irolli at the height of his powers as both a colourist and genre painter. The small dark-walled room in which the figures are set grants the viewer an intimate glimpse of a quiet moment shared by the two figures hard at their work. The simple subject, however, is given great vivacity through Irolli’s typically thickly textured paint application and audacious use of colour. The riot of green tones overlaid and intermixed with one another in the fabric which the figures are sewing is dramatically reflected by their skin and hair. Similarly, the wall behind the figures shows the artist mixing shades of blue, brown, tan and green, which are also picked up by the woman’s hair, to give depth and energy to the deceptively simple setting. The open window beyond allows the artist to introduce an element of warm Southern Italian light to the painting as well, reflecting off the figure of the child and illuminating a small glimpse of the outside world.
A Woman and Child Sewing shows Irolli at the height of his powers as both a colourist and genre painter. The small dark-walled room in which the figures are set grants the viewer an intimate glimpse of a quiet moment shared by the two figures hard at their work. The simple subject, however, is given great vivacity through Irolli’s typically thickly textured paint application and audacious use of colour. The riot of green tones overlaid and intermixed with one another in the fabric which the figures are sewing is dramatically reflected by their skin and hair. Similarly, the wall behind the figures shows the artist mixing shades of blue, brown, tan and green, which are also picked up by the woman’s hair, to give depth and energy to the deceptively simple setting. The open window beyond allows the artist to introduce an element of warm Southern Italian light to the painting as well, reflecting off the figure of the child and illuminating a small glimpse of the outside world.