Federico Andreotti (1847 – 1930) - Vecchio con ombrello

FEDERICO ANDREOTTI
(Firenze, 1847 – 1930)
Vecchio con ombrello
Oil on panel, cm. 25 x 18
Signed “F. ANDREOTTI” at the top right
Frame size cm. 46 x 39 x 8 approx.

NOTE: Publication catalog of the Intermidiart collection works. Work signed. Guarantee and Legitimate Provenance Certificate. Artwork with gilded and worked frame (flaws) with metal caption on the front “F. ANDREOTTI” (flaws):

This fine work, entitled Vecchio con ombrello – coming from a well-known Tuscan auction house – is unmistakably attributable to the capable Florentine painter Federico Andreotti (Florence, 1847 – 1930), an Italian artist known for the refined production of genre scenes and female figures, active from the late nineteenth century to the first decades of the twentieth century.
The painting depicts, in profile and three-quarter view, an elderly man elegantly dressed, with a black hat and a lively red umbrella that introduces a striking chromatic note. The figure emerges decisively from a dark and neutral background, a solution that enhances its stage presence and focuses attention on the subject’s intense facial characterization.
The quality of execution, attention to the details of the clothing, and the luministic rendering, expertly calibrated, confirm the artist’s skilled hand, capable of combining descriptive precision with narrative sensitivity in a composition of elegant balance.
Andreotti approaches this subject with the usual compositional elegance and with a carefully dosed use of color, qualities that characterize much of his body of work. After an initial foray into historical painting — an area that did not bring him the hoped-for success — the artist turned to portraiture and, above all, to genre scenes in a neo-18th-century setting, a genre in which he achieved broad acclaim. His works are distinguished by descriptive realism and technical virtuosity, offering scenes of everyday life built with balanced light and harmonious perspective composition.
Andreotti’s artistic formation has its roots in studying the masters of the Seicento. His first teacher was Tricca and, from 1861, he attended the Florentine Academy of Fine Arts under the guidance of Pollastrini; in the same year he presented a school essay depicting an Allegorical Figure of Italy. In 1864 he received a commission for one of his most ambitious works, Savonarola expelling two Bentivoglio assassins from his cell, but it was received with criticisms that helped to definitively steer the artist away from historical painting.
In his rich production, predominantly dominated by portraits, there are also landscapes that can be traced to the Realism of Tuscany. Federico Andreotti thus establishes himself as a painter of great veristic talent, author of canvases wrapped in an atmosphere of charm, liveliness, and vitality, in which the subjects appear concrete and tangible thanks to extraordinary technical mastery and the use of luminous and brilliant colors.
Regarding the state of conservation, the painting surface shows a varnish in patina. It is also noted under raking sunlight the characteristics of the lay color and the brushstroke. The dimensions of the work are cm. 25 x 18. The painting is enhanced by a gilded and worked frame, with a metal caption on the front “F. ANDREOTTI”, of great decorative effect (size cm. 46 x 39 x 8 approx., presence of flaws). "The frame shown in the photos above has been added to the artwork by the seller or a third party. The frame will be provided 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 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 request order cancellation."

PROVENANCE: Private Collection

PUBLICATION:
- Unpublished;
- I MITI E IL TERRITORIO in Sicily with a thousand cultures. INEDITA QUADRERIA general catalog of the paintings from the cycle “I Miti e il territorio”, Editor Lab_04, Marsala, 2026.

The work will be shipped – due to the frame being fragile – with a wooden crate and polystyrene. In case of sale outside the Italian territory, the purchaser will have to wait for the export paperwork processing times.