Pietro Scoppetta (1863–1920) - Allo specchio

PIETRO SCOPPETTA
(Amalfi, SA 1863 – Naples, 1920)
Allo specchio
Pastel on cardboard, 32.5 x 28 cm
Signed ‘P. SCOPETTA’ at bottom left
Frame size, approx. 49 x 45 x 4 cm.

NOTE: Intermidiart catalog publication. Signed at bottom left. Certificate of Legitimate Provenance. Work with wooden frame (defects):

This refined painting, known under the title Allo specchio, centers on the female figure of the early 20th century and was realized by the famous Neapolitan painter Pietro Scoppetta (Amalfi, 1863 – Naples, 1920).
Executed with pastel technique on paper, the work depicts a woman adjusting her hat in front of a mirror. It is a significant example of Scoppetta’s style, an artist of Amalfi origin active in Naples, known for his female figures captured in moments of spontaneous intimacy.
Straddling two centuries, Scoppetta’s figure was animated by trends, personal as well as artistic, that were essentially divergent. The artist initially inherited poetics geared toward a strict representation of the truth, filtered to him through the teachings of Gaetano Capone and later Giacomo Di Chirico, when he still frequented the scenes of his native Amalfi and its coastline.
At the end of his military service, it was the great Neapolitan painting school, with its prestigious representatives — among whom Edoardo Dalbono stands out — that directed some of his thematic and stylistic choices.
In Naples, however, a new climate was in the air, eager to break away from the heavy legacy of the past: the first Liberty (Art Nouveau) tendencies began to spread, with renewed attention to applied arts and graphics. Scoppetta, a passionate draftsman, was inevitably influenced by this. His brushwork thus became faster and more concise, while the palette was reduced to an essential color range.
A natural consequence of what can be defined as a sort of Neapolitan Belle Époque was the move to the driving center of these trends, namely Paris. Following the example of numerous Italian artists — including Carlo Brancaccio, Ulisse Caputo, Lionello Balestrieri, Raffaele Ragione and Vincenzo La Bella — Scoppetta moved to the French capital. From there he continued his travels across Europe, always in search of elegant subjects to quickly fix in his notebook.
A privileged protagonist of Scoppetta’s drawings and canvases is the female figure, represented both in the spontaneity of an intimate and solitary dimension and in the more studied outfits, immersed in refined metropolitan settings. The work under examination manages to reconcile these two tensions, returning a private moment in the life of an elegant lady of the city bourgeoisie.
The described work is presented in good preservation, despite the signs of aging visible in the photos, and bears the artist’s signature at the bottom left.
The painting, of good painting hand, is embellished by a gilded and black lacquered frame (frame size, approx. 49 x 45 x 4 cm, defects). "The frame shown in the photos above has been added to the artwork by the seller or a third party. The frame is 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 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 file a claim or request order cancellation."

PROVENANCE: Private Collection

PUBLICATION:
- Unpublished;
- I MITI E IL TERRITORIO in Sicilia dalle mille culture. INEDITA QUADRERIA general catalog of paintings from the cycle “I Miti e il territorio,” Editor Lab_04, Marsala, 2026 (Pdf).

In the case of sale outside Italian territory, the buyer must wait for the processing times of export procedures.