Southern Landscape Watercolor Plein Air Work Franco-italian School Painting Decorative 2

Southern Landscape Watercolor, Plein Air, Franco-Italian School.**In its original, unrestored condition. Signed Caputo and dated 1999, this watercolor is a particularly refined example of naturalistic landscape painting at the turn of the 20th century. The artist, from the Franco-Italian school active in the South of France, displays remarkable technical mastery, characteristic of plein air studies carried out in southern studios during this period. The composition is structured around a central perspective axis, the true backbone of the painting, which guides the eye towards a highly sensitive atmospheric depth. The masses of trees are achieved through the superimposition of translucent washes, complemented by gouache highlights applied in broken strokes, typical of the southern pictorial grammar on the cusp of Post-Impressionism. The slightly oxidized paper plays an active role in the rendering of light. The reserved areas and the pentimenti visible through the transparent paper demonstrate a direct approach, without heavy preparatory drawing, confirming the spontaneous and authentically "en plein air" nature of the work. The ochre-green palette, modulated by subtle warm transitions, links this watercolor to the research conducted at the same time in Provençal and Ligurian circles. The atmospheric rendering recalls the practices of artists trained in the regional schools of Nice, Marseille, or Toulon, where mastery of watercolor was a major exercise within the academic curriculum. The subtlety of the light's vibrations, combined with a highly controlled economy of means, places Caputo in the lineage of Franco-Italian painters who contributed to the renewal of the Mediterranean landscape at the end of the 19th century. The inscription "99 , firmly anchoring this piece in the artistic practice of its time. A delicate and sensitive work, perfectly representative of the fin-de-siècle southern landscape, and particularly appealing for a contemporary display or a collector's cabinet. Technique: watercolor and gouache on paper.

Dimensions: 16 × 10 cm. Signed dated Franco-Italian school.