Adolphe Monticelli (1824 - 1886) — The Bohemians

The Bohemians
Oil on panel, signed lower right.
45.50 x 67.50 cm

Provenance:
Private collection, southern france

Bibliography:
Sauveur Stammegna, Catalogue of Monticelli's works, Volume II, 1986, reproduced under No. 783 on p. 129.
Certificate of authenticity established by Mr. Marc Stammegna on June 27, 2017.

BetweenDelacroix and Van Gogh: the modernity of Monticelli 

AdolpheMonticelli was born in Marseille in 1824. But his parents, who were not marriedat the time of his birth, would not recognize him until eleven years later. Inthe meantime, the child was entrusted to the care of peasants in Ganagobie, inthe Alps, where he was raised in the greatest freedom.
When Monticelli returnedto Marseille, after his parents had recognized him, it was the beginning of anew and unusual life for him. He took refuge in his passion for drawing,studying with Augustin Aubert at the École des Beaux-Arts. He also enrolled inFélix Ziem's watercolor workshop.
Throughout his life, the painter moved backand forth between Marseille and the capital. But he had another passion: opera,and although painting took precedence, he never abandoned this violin d'Ingres.
Monticelli'swork has been extensively studied in France and abroad, and interest in it hasnever waned. Proof of this is the exhibition organized by the Vieille Charitéin Marseille in 2008, which brought together two artists who stood apart in the19th century: Monticelli and Van Gogh. In fact, Monticelli owes much of hisfame (especially abroad) to the admiration he aroused in Van Gogh, an emotionthe latter shared with his brother Theo in their correspondence. In this way, awider public gained access to the artist's work, searching for traces of thegenius detected by Van Gogh.
FromNarcisse Diaz de la Pena, the romantic Barbizonian, to Eugène Delacroix, thefiery colorist, Monticelli's direct influences exalted the best of late19th-century pictorial research, giving it a meaning of its own. Monticelli wasnot only an excellent portraitist, but also an expert landscape painter.
Hispowerful work is built on a mythology inspired by theater, opera and thefigures of Watteau, and haloed by the lights of the rugged countryside ofGanagobie, where he spent his childhood. A genius whom art historian GermainBazin described as “the necessary link between Delacroix and Van Gogh”.

Discover more works by this artist on the gallery's website: https://www.galeriepentcheff.fr/fr/peintre-adolphe-monticelli#Oeuvres