Nicola Fabbricatore (naples 1888 – Rome 1962) View Of Boats In Venice At Dawn . Circa 1920-30

Nicola Fabbricatore (Naples 1888 – Rome 1962)

View of boats in Venice at dawn

Pastel on cardboard, protected by a secondary board with dedication

Cm 43/39 with frame

Signed lower left: Nic. Fabbricatore

Carved and silvered wooden frame, late 1920s

Venice at daybreak, when the light hesitates and the water still holds its breath. The boats are those of the lagoon, bragozzi and trabaccoli with their large triangular sails, slowly emerging from the mist. In the distance, tiny points of light suggest the lamps along the waterfront: perhaps still gas lamps—introduced in Venice as early as 1843—or already electric, progressively adopted between the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Fabbricatore is not concerned with topography but with atmosphere. The pastel medium allows him to modulate light and dissolve contours, turning the morning haze into the true protagonist of the scene. Here lies his affinity with Impressionism: if Monet had chosen the fog of London as the stage of modernity, Fabbricatore offers an Italian, Venetian counterpart—where mist becomes lagoon haze, liquid reflections, and suspended light.

On the reverse, a dedication reads: “To Giulio Noseda and his gentle bride, on the day of their union, with the sincerest wishes for happiness and prosperity. 5/6/1929. Iris Musaldi.” A wedding gift, complete with its period frame, perfectly in keeping with the date.

Nicola Fabbricatore was a regular presence at the Venice Biennale during the 1920s and 1930s (XIII in 1922, XIV in 1924, XV in 1926, again in 1930 and later). It is plausible that this pastel was executed during one of his Venetian stays connected with these exhibitions, when painters sought to capture the city’s elusive dawn light.

Good, with light wear consistent with age and a patina that enhances the freshness of the pastel.