Carlo Montesi (1920) - Il violinista

Carlo Montesi (Italy, 20th century) – securely attributed, signed by the artist.
“The Violinist,” circa 1986, oil on canvas.
Canvas dimensions: 50 x 70 cm.

Genre painting depicting a young Pierrot in a stage costume — green jacket, red trousers, pink bow — intent on playing the violin, enveloped by a warm and luminous background that recalls a circus spotlight. The subject of the “music clown” belongs to a figurative tradition much loved in late 20th-century Italian collectible painting, which combined the lightness of circus themes with a solid, tactile painting technique.

Carlo Montesi, active between Florence and Rome, built his production mainly around still lifes and genre scenes, with a brushwork that is classical in taste yet lively, capable of capturing light in quick, bright strokes — evident in the rendering of the circular background behind the figure.

Provenance: the work is accompanied by the original purchase documentation, including the certificate of guarantee and authenticity issued by the Gallery “Il Castello” of Adria in 1986, attached in the photo.