Fiorello Tosoni (1939) - Ritratto

Fiorello Tosoni (Prato, 1939)
Portrait, 1986
Technique: sanguine and mixed media on paper
Year: 1986
Dimensions: 57 × 39 cm
Signature: signed bottom right
Authenticity: artist's authenticity on photograph of the work
Provenance: Galleria Ghelfi, Verona
Support: cardboard
Conditions: excellent overall condition, as per photographs

Artwork belonging to the refined figurative production of Fiorello Tosoni, Prato master born in 1939, pupil and collaborator of Pietro Annigoni, among the most authoritative interpreters of the Italian figurative tradition of the second half of the 20th century. His artistic research is characterized by drawing of extraordinary sensibility, a deep anatomical knowledge, and an execution technique that recalls the great Renaissance tradition.

This delicate "Portrait", created in 1986, depicts a young female figure captured in a moment of intimate suspension. The use of sanguine gives the work a particular luminous softness, enhancing the volumes of the face and the fineness of the expression. The line is essential yet extremely evocative: a few marks are enough for the artist to define the hairstyle, the neck, and the hint of the garment, allowing the subject's psychological sensitivity to emerge.

The work belongs to one of Tosoni's most appreciated themes, that of female figures, recently valorizied also by the great retrospective exhibition "Fiorello Tosoni. A life for Art" hosted at the Museum of Palazzo Pretorio of Prato between 2024 and 2025.

The work is accompanied by authentic autograph of the artist on the photograph and presents a well-documented provenance from the historic Galleria Ghelfi of Verona, an element that reinforces its collectible traceability.

Critical note

"Portrait" testifies to Fiorello Tosoni's ability to transform drawing into a completed work. The sanguine, used with extreme elegance, renders an image that is timeless, suspended between memory, classicism, and contemporary sensibility.