By Cesare Saccaggi, “il Voto” (the Vow), Oil On Canvas, Signed G. Rigotto, 1950s

By Cesare Saccaggi, “Il Voto” (The Vow), oil on canvas, signed G. Rigotto, 1950s

By Cesare Saccaggi (1868–1934)

Il voto (The Vow)

Oil on canvas, signed lower right G. Rigotto.

An important composition in the historicist style inspired by the work of Cesare Saccaggi, one of the leading exponents of Symbolist and historical-allegorical painting in Piedmont between the 19th and 20th centuries. The scene depicts a votive procession composed of figures in Renaissance dress, arranged in an almost processional sequence within a horizontal format with a strong narrative impact.

The female figures, the central protagonists of the composition, are rendered with elegant idealization and refined attention to detail in their costumes, hairstyles, and accessories. Among them are a young woman holding a lamb—a clear symbolic reference—and other characters carrying votive objects and musical instruments. The presence of the knight in armor and other male figures contributes to creating a scene of solemn intensity.

The rich, enameled palette alternates between precious tones and bright colors that enhance the textile rendering of the clothes, while the compact, linear composition recalls 15th-century models filtered through an early 20th-century sensibility.

A work of considerable decorative and collectible impact, it can be placed within the tradition of 20th-century Italian historicist painting.

Dimensions:

Canvas 84 × 150 cm

Frame 108 × 172 cm