Julien Gustave Gagliardini (1846- 1927) French - Venice, The Squero Of San Trovaso, Circa 1900

Venice, the Squero de San Trovaso, circa 1900

Oil on canvas Signed lower right.
Dimensions: 54 x 65 cm
With frame: 80 x 91 cm

Far from the tourist clichés of Venice, Julien, Gustave Gagliardini takes us to the heart of an old and attractive district of Venice, particularly peaceful and romantic, the Dorsoduro. The painter chose to represent the Squero de San Trovaso, one of the last active places for the manufacture and repair of gondolas. In operation since the 17th century, the place is picturesque with its wooden houses resembling mountain chalets; the workshops belonging to families from the mountains where the raw materials necessary for the manufacture of boats came from.
Behind the workshops we can see the San Trovaso church which gave its name to the river which borders it on its eastern side.

A vibrant post-impressionist touch and bright colors, the blue of the sky and the oranges of the old stone and wood bring a lot of warmth and cheerfulness to the work.

Biographie

Julien Gustave Gagliardini is a Lorraine figure, history and landscape painter born in Mulhouse and died in Paris. He was first a student of the history painter Claude Soulary, then he entered the Ecole des Beaux- Arts of Paris, in the studio of Léon Cogniet.

He then turned to figure painting and began at the Salon of 1869 with portraits and genre scenes. Then he abandoned historical subjects and devoted himself, from the 1880s, to landscapes generally inspired by Auvergne and the south of France (Provence) which became his favorite subjects. Its paste is solid and its colors are frank and often vibrant. He benefited from several State purchases (Coup de midi, Provence 1880, Plein midi, Auvergne 1891, À Venise 1913) and was rewarded numerous times: Honorable mention in 1883 Third class medal in 1884 Second class medal in 1886 , Silver medal at the Universal Exhibition of 1889 Gold medal at the Universal Exhibition of 1900. He was named knight of the Legion of Honor in 1893.

Bibliography:

•Hélène Braeuener, “Gagliardini”, in Les Peintres of the Bay of Somme: around impressionism, the Renaissance of the book, Tournai, 2001, p. 60-61
• Raymond Oberlé, “Julien Gustave Gagliardini (pseudonym of Gaillardin)”, in New dictionary of Alsatian biography, vol. 12, p. 1096 Museums:
• Évreux; museum of the old bishopric - Twilight, woman in a meadow at dusk.
• Marseille; Museum of Fine Arts - Landscape. •Le Havre; André Malraux Museum of Modern Art - The merchant quay in Toulon.
• Bayeux; Baron Gérard museum - Landscape in Laguépie.
• Digne-les-Bains; Gassendi museum - Village on the shores of the Mediterranean.
• Reims; Museum of Fine Arts of Saint-Denis - Lost Village (Basse Alpes).
. Narbonne; archbishop's palace - Shoes in Provence.