Alfonso Grassi (1918-2002) - Giochi sulla neve

Alfonso Grassi
Alfonso Grassi was born in Solofra, in the province of Avellino, in 1918 and died in Salerno in 2002. A figurative artist with solid training, he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples, graduating in 1940.
During his career he stood out mainly for figure painting, portraiture, and scenes of daily life, developing a language attentive to factual reality, the construction of forms, and the expressive rendering of the characters. He was close to important protagonists of Italian painting of the 20th century, including Giorgio de Chirico, Gregorio Sciltian, and Pietro Annigoni.
Grassi produced numerous portraits of public and religious figures, including Pope John Paul II, Sandro Pertini, Giulio Andreotti, and Giorgio de Chirico. His painting preserves a recognizable figurative approach, based on mastery of drawing, the narrative force of the scene, and a lively yet controlled painting execution.

DESCRIZIONE

Giochi sulla neve
Oil on canvas
Signed in the bottom right
Dated 1964 on the back
Stamp on the back of the Salerno Italia Alfonso Grassi Art Gallery
Dimensions of the work: 54 x 49 cm
Dimensions with frame: 89 x 85 cm

In Giochi sulla neve, Alfonso Grassi depicts a scene of daily life set in a snow-covered village. Some children play outdoors, among stone houses, stairs, rustic walls, and traces of snow on the ground. The central group, built with great attention to the movement of bodies, becomes the narrative fulcrum of the work.
The scene is animated by a lively naturalness: the children chase each other, grab one another, play in the snow, while on the right a more restrained female figure crosses the space with a bucket or small container in hand. The rural setting, rendered through simple and austere architectures, contributes to giving the painting an authentic and popular character.
The painting is executed with swift but controlled brushstrokes, capable of effectively describing both the figures and the surrounding landscape. Grassi maintains a strong realistic attention, especially in the construction of gestures and postures, but without stiffening the scene: the snow, the stone walls, and the children's clothing are rendered with lively touches and well-calibrated chromatic variations.
The work, dated 1964, represents an interesting example of Alfonso Grassi’s figurative painting, in which daily life is combined with solid compositional ability and a sensitivity attentive to popular life.

CONDITION REPORT
Good overall condition, compatible with the period of the work. The pictorial surface is legible, with chromatic integrity preserved overall and the signature visible in the bottom right. On the back there is the dating 1964 and the stamp of the Galleria d’Arte Salerno Italia Alfonso Grassi.
The frame is to be understood as a homage together with the work.
Tracked and insured shipment with appropriate packaging.