Luigi Pagan, View Of Chioggia, 1939. Oil On Panel

Luigi Pagan
1907-1991

View of Chioggia, 1939
oil on panel, cm. 50×65.6
Signed lower left
Signature, dedication and date on the back
Contemporary carved and gilded frame for a total of cm. 64×79

This lively View of Chioggia, dated 1939, represents a typical scene of the picturesque Venetian lagoon center, rendered with a dense pictorial impasto and a bright and vibrant palette. The artist captures a stretch of the canal animated by the presence of sailing boats (bragozzi) with the typical ochre and ochre-yellow sails, moored along the docks on which figures of fishermen and passers-by move.

The Venetian architecture, created with rapid material touches, seems to grain in the daylight, restoring an atmosphere suspended between reality and impressionist vision. The reflections on the water and the rendering of light denote great technical mastery and chromatic sensitivity.

The work, signed lower left, is accompanied by a signature, dedication and date on the back, which increase its historical and documentary value. The original frame completes the painting, enhancing its decorative impact.

Luigi Pagan was born in Venice in 1907 and trained artistically in the lagoon environment, frequenting the painters of the Venetian school of the early twentieth century from a young age. Attracted to en plein air painting, he developed a personal style characterized by a material brushstroke and a marked attention to light and atmospheric effects.

His production favors subjects linked to the Venetian lagoon, urban views, the canals of Venice and Chioggia, often animated by popular figures and everyday scenes. Pagan was also an engraver and participated in various collective exhibitions in the Veneto during the 1930s and 1940s. His painting is part of a post-impressionist tradition, with influences ranging from Ciardi to Nono, but with a recognizable expressive style.

He died in 1991, leaving a body of works appreciated for the freshness of execution and the ability to evoke atmospheres of other times.

The painting is in good condition, with light signs of aging compatible with the age of the work. The panel is stable and the pictorial surface well preserved, with small retouches visible only under grazing light. The contemporary frame shows minimal wear.