The Matterhorn (switzerland-italy) - Oil On Canvas Signed Virgilio Costantini (1882-1949)

Large oil on canvas depicting the Matterhorn, located on the Italian-Swiss border, between the canton of Valais and the Aosta Valley. Signed lower left: Virgilio Costantini (1882-1949). Dimensions: 92 x 73 cm.

Virgilio Costantini, born May 26, 1882, in Cefalù and died April 27, 1949, in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, was an Italian painter. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Palermo, where he was a student of the sculptor Mario Rutelli, and later of the painter Francesco Lojacono. In 1898, he furthered his studies for a year at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice. He exhibited in Turin, then Florence, around 1905, before settling in France around 1906 where he studied under Lucien Simon. He resided in France, primarily in Paris, La Trinité-sur-Mer, and Roquebrune-Cap-Martin. In 1908, he participated for the first time in the Salon des Indépendants and became known mainly for his portraits of women, nudes, and landscapes. According to his first biographer, Marcel Valotaire, his style is similar to that of John Singer Sargent and Anders Zorn. He lived in London between 1923 and 1925, where he taught at the Royal Academy. From 1923, he was a member of the board of Fascio de Paris, a quasi-official organization of Italian fascism. He participated in other exhibitions in the 1930s, primarily in Florence, London, Paris, and Venice. He ceased exhibiting after the war and appears to have retired, though he continued to paint at his villa in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin. He was the father of two sons, Gino and Paul-François. Gino would later found the Costantini shipyard in La Trinité-sur-Mer, and his grandson, Gilles Costantini, would design Éric Tabarly's Pen Duick II.

The Matterhorn (German: Matterhorn, Italian: Cervino), at 4,478 meters, is the 12th highest peak in the Alps. It is located on the Italian-Swiss border, between the canton of Valais and the Aosta Valley. It overlooks the Swiss town of Zermatt to the northeast and the Italian town of Breuil-Cervinia to the south. It connects the Zermatt Valley and Valtournenche in the Aosta Valley via the Saint-Théodule Pass to the east. The Matterhorn is the most famous mountain in Switzerland, particularly for its pyramidal shape as seen from the town of Zermatt in the German-speaking part of the canton of Valais. Its image is regularly used in the logos of brands such as Toblerone and Ricola. The ascent via the Hörnli ridge on July 14, 1865, is considered the last of the great feats of mountaineering in the Alps. However, this ascent, led by Edward Whymper, resulted in the deaths of four of the seven members of the victorious climbing party at the beginning of the descent. Its north face is one of the three great north faces of the Alps, along with those of the Eiger and the Grandes Jorasses.