Attilio Pratella (1856 – 1949) - Impressione - NO RESERVE

ATTILIO PRATELLA
(Lugo di Romagna, RA 1856 – Naples, 1949)
Impression
Oil on canvas mounted on cardboard, 11 x 14 cm
Signed 'A. PRATELLA' at the bottom right.
Frame size: approx. 24 x 27 x 3 cm.


NOTE: Intermidiart catalog publication. Signed at bottom left. Certificate of legitimate provenance. Work with gilded and elaborately worked frame (defects):

This refined sketch, bearing the title Impressione, is the work of the famous painter Attilio Pratella (Lugo di Romagna, 1856 – Naples, 1949). Numerous works by the artist explicitly bear the titles Impressione or Impressioni, testifying to his constant intention to capture on the canvas a pure and immediate visual moment, as also happens in the present case.
The painting fully fits into the master's mature output, characterized by a palette dominated by luminous colors, by a remarkable freshness of color, and by a particular attention to the atmospheric element. The pictorial matter, substantial and paste-like, rests on a refined tonal search and on a “pittura di macchia” technique, in which forms are not defined by rigid outlines, but emerge through vibrant juxtapositions of color. Such a technique allows the artist to capture, with lyrical sensitivity, both the beauties and the contradictions of the southern landscape.
In this work Pratella confirms his famous ability to capture the fleeting light of the Gulf of Naples, using quick and loose brushstrokes to convey the immediate impression of the seascape. The view presents, as distinctive elements, the choppy sea, the nearby mountain, and, above all, the exaltation of light and color—traits typical of the artist’s works dedicated to this subject.
Attilio Pratella began drawing at a young age and, in 1877, thanks to a scholarship, he enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts of Bologna. The encounter with the landscapes of Antonio Fontanesi, preserved in the Academy's Pinacoteca, proved to be a true painting revelation for him. Moving to Naples in 1880, he attended the Institute of Fine Arts and drew closer to the milieu of the Scuola di Resina. To support himself financially, he also worked as a ceramic decorator at the Cacciapuoti factory.
In 1887 he exhibited Il Mattino at the Promotrice napoletana, a work selected by Domenico Morelli for the Capodimonte Art Gallery, confirming his recognized talent in the landscape genre. From that moment began a period of great success, marked by an increasing number of commissions and participation in important exhibitions in Italy and abroad, including the Venice Biennale and the Paris Salon.
Pratella was also the progenitor of a true artistic dynasty: three of his children — Ada, Fausto and Paolo — followed in his footsteps, establishing themselves as prominent painters. Attilio Pratella died in Naples on 28 April 1949, in his home in the Vomero, from which he could admire Villa Floridiana and listen daily to the noon cannon shot coming from Castel Sant’Elmo.
The described work is in good condition, despite signs of aging visible in the photos, and bears the artist's signature in the lower right corner. The painting, of good painting technique, is enhanced by a gilded and intricate frame (frame dimensions, approx. 24 x 27 x 3 cm, defects). "The frame shown in the photos above has been added to the artwork by the seller or by a third party. The frame is provided to you at no additional cost so that it is ready to display as soon as it arrives. The frame is included as a courtesy and is not considered an integral part of the artwork. Therefore, any potential damage to the frame that does not affect the artwork itself will not be accepted as a valid reason to open a claim or to request the cancellation of the order."

Origin: Private Collection

Publication
 Unpublished;
THE MYTHS AND THE TERRITORY in Sicily, with its thousand cultures. UNPUBLISHED PICTURE GALLERY catalog of the paintings from the collection of the cycle “The Myths and the Territory,” Publisher Lab_04, Marsala, 2026.

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