Alfonso Papi (1931) - Paesaggio con covoni

Alfonso Papi (Castellina Marittima, Pisa, 1931)
Landscape with sheaves
Oil on masonite, 50 x 70 cm
Framed dimensions: 67 x 87 cm
Signed bottom right.

The absolute protagonists of the scene, set in a rural landscape, are two haystacks, probably of hay. On the sides they are framed by two groups of trees, while in the center, in the background, a hill can be glimpsed.
On the left margin a female figure moves away.

The pictorial narrative proceeds in patches of color — yellows, reds, browns, greens: fine-end summer shades that identify a quiet and somewhat melancholic situation, as when August ends and September begins.

Born in 1931 in Castellina Marittima (Pisa), Alfonso Papi has lived and worked for years in Livorno, where he also trained artistically. He was a pupil of Voltolino Fontani and studied at the Libera Accademia d'Arte Trossi-Uberti.

His style is strongly influenced by the methods of the Gruppo Labronico.
The Gruppo Labronico is an entourage of painters still active, founded in Livorno on July 15, 1920 at the studio of Gino Romiti with the aim of continuing the painting experiences developed in Tuscany — and, in particular, precisely in Livorno — in the preceding years.
The members of the Group sought to follow the teachings of the great master Giovanni Fattori and were framed within the Postmacchiaioli current.
Voltolino Fontani himself became a member in 1951 and gave the Group an innovative impulse.

Papi has thus assimilated a style based on the blotch, which he has nevertheless managed to rework according to his own landscape poetics.
His is an immediate painterly sensibility, which outlines objects with few patches of color. His interest focuses on the Tuscan inland landscapes, and the selected color range is characterized by bright tones, rich with emotional vibrancy.

Provenance: Italian private collection.
Frame included.