Giovanni Rota, Portrait Of A Girl In A Straw Hat

This fine late 19th-century oil painting by Italian artist Giovanni Rota (1832-1900) depicts a cheerful young lady looking back over her shoulder with a straw hat and lilac ribbon.

Radiant, effusive and captivating, Rota’s vivid works convey the buoyancy of a bright Venetian summer. He painted with such conviction that he rendered colour akin to glazed porcelain. The skin tones are convincingly realistic and the figure carries a three-dimensional quality. She’s simultaneously statuesque and yet bustling with energy.

Born in Trieste, Rota trained initially under Augusto Tominz (1818-1883) before enrolling at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia. Immersing himself in the sumptuous works of the Venetian masters, he toiled feverishly in their shadow. Renaissance Venice was known for producing some of the finest colourists the world has ever witnessed and, evidently, the young aspirant was inspired.

During the early part of his career, he produced numerous religious works in addition to portraiture. These included two canvases for the church of Saints Ermacora and Fortunato in Trieste, which formed part of a polyptych. He also painted his brothers, Giuseppe Rota and Giacomo Rota, a well-known musician and a famous opera singer respectively.

It’s plausible that he remained in Trieste until 1874 when he relocated to Vienna. This was followed, sixteen years later, by a move to Paris.

Today, as we consider the oeuvre of this gifted Italian artisan, it’s his use of colour that carries the greatest poignancy. Like Titian before him, his works encapsulate the boundless spirit of Venice.

He's represented at the Civico Museo Teatrale Carlo Schmidl in Trieste.

Signed in the lower left and held within a later gilt frame.

Learn more about Giovanni Rota in our directory.

Medium: Oil on canvas
Overall size: 16” x 19½” / 41cm x 49cm
Year of creation: c. 1880
Provenance: Private collection, Upper Austria.
Condition: Cleaned. Canvas relined. Faint stretcher marks. Craquelure throughout. The paint layer is stable. Frame with various marks and showing its age.
Artist’s auction maximum: £6,800 for ‘Reading a Book (1872)’, Oil on canvas, Bonhams, 19th Century European Paintings, Drawings & Watercolours, London, 16 April 2008 (lot 104).
Our reference: BRV2070