Giuseppe Riva, Two Views Of Milan, Ca. 1940

Giuseppe Riva Two Views of Milan, circa 1940 characterized by rapid, textured, and impressionistic brushstrokes and presented in gilded, molded frames with white mat boards and gilded inner borders.

The upper painting depicts the San Francesco Fountain created by the artist Giannino Castiglioni in Piazza Sant’Angelo in Milan, shown bustling with figures and featuring a glimpse of the church’s facade. The oil painting on Masonite is dominated by earthy tones, olive greens, and the grays of the water, illuminated by quick touches of white and ochre. The work is signed and dated in the lower right corner. The lower painting depicts a view of Piazza Fontana overlooking the Duomo, recognizable by the famous fountain designed by Giuseppe Piermarini, which is positioned at the center of the composition. The square is bordered on the left by the imposing facade of the Archbishop’s Palace and on the right by historic buildings overlooking the open space, brought to life by small figures of passersby and the silhouette of a vintage carriage or automobile. In the background, rising above the rooftops, stands the main spire of Milan Cathedral with the Madonnina, rendered with luminous, vertical brushstrokes against the gray-blue sky. Here, too, the warm shades of ochre and brown of the historic buildings predominate, contrasted by the dark shadows of the fountain basin and the green of the trees along the perimeter of the square. In the lower right corner is Giuseppe Riva’s signature. The dimensions of the painting alone are 18 x 24 cm.