Enrico Sottili (reggio Emilia, 1890 - Sala Comacina (co), 1977), View Of The Valley

Enrico Sottili (Reggio Emilia, 1890 - Sala Comacina (CO), 1977)

View of the valley

Oil on canvas, 98 x 140 cm

Signed and dated lower right: E.Sottili, 1924

Signed and dated at the bottom right, View of the valley represents one of the most successful results of the landscape research of Enrico Sottili, a painter born in Reggio Emilia in 1890 and later deeply linked to the Lombard territories. The work depicts a wide mountain scenery, probably attributable to the peaks of the Val d'Intelvi, a place the artist frequented continuously and which constituted one of the main sources of his inspiration. The high vantage point, the clear light, and the discreet presence of animals and a peasant woman from behind define a suspended atmosphere, in which the daily dimension of rural life merges with the silent vastness of Alpine nature. His experience as a teacher at the Cantù art school and, subsequently, his move to Milan allowed him to come into contact with lively artistic environments –particularly the one gravitating around Ottavio Grolla– which helped refine his language. However, it was the landscape that offered him the most congenial expressive space: starting in the 1920s, in fact, he chose to dedicate himself almost exclusively to the representation of the Lombard valleys, privileging the Val d'Intelvi and the Spluga area, places that allowed him to explore a wide range of atmospheric effects. In View of the Valley this sensitivity towards light and tonal passages, a distinctive feature of his poetics, clearly emerges. The cabin in the foreground, built with dry and precise brushstrokes, stands out against the soft succession of hills and reliefs, where violets, greens and blues modulate the distance and restore the vibration of the air. The artist does not seek descriptive realism, but a balance between observation and interpretation: the scene, in fact, seems constructed to lead the gaze towards the distant horizon, almost as if to suggest a contemplative feeling. Sottili's production enjoyed a fair amount of success during his lifetime. His attention to the Lombard landscape was appreciated on several exhibition occasions, particularly in the exhibitions held in Lanzo d'Intelvi. Further recognition of his contribution is found in the presence of works, such as the Mountain Landscape, now preserved in the Civic Art Gallery of Palazzo Volpi in Como. Even decades later, the 1981 exhibition Painters and Sculptors of the Como Area reaffirmed Sottili's role in the landscape tradition of the 20th century. Sottili continued to work on these themes until the end of his life, spent in Sala Comacina, where he died in 1977, leaving behind a coherent production that is still well recognizable today.