Lot Essay
Born in Genoa, Giovanni Scanzi (d. 1915) was a pupil of Santo Varni and subsequently entered the Accademia Ligustica in his home city in 1852, winning a prize for his work in 1856. In 1863 he was awarded a scholarship and travelled to Rome to complete his studies. Returning to Genoa shortly afterwards he quickly established both a local and overseas clientèle. Many of his works are now in the collections of the Accademia Ligustica and the Civic Gallery of Modern Art, both in Genoa.
A beautiful and tender portrayal of a young girl begging for money, the present work epitomises the naturalism of Scanzi's genre subjects, here given added poignancy through the forlorn facial expression of the child and the single small coin that she grasps in her hand.
A beautiful and tender portrayal of a young girl begging for money, the present work epitomises the naturalism of Scanzi's genre subjects, here given added poignancy through the forlorn facial expression of the child and the single small coin that she grasps in her hand.