Giovanni Battista Todeschini (1857-1938) - Riflessi di seta bianchi

Giovanni Battista Todeschini (Lecco, June 9, 1857 – Milan, 1938).
"White Silk Reflections" 1880
a very rare artist whose work remained within the 19th century
dimensions with frame c. 70x60 cm. the hand-carved wooden frame is not part of the sale but is offered free of charge
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Biography
Giambattista Todeschini was born in Lecco and is the nephew of the scientist Antonio Stoppani. Drawn to drawing, he began attending the Brera Academy in Milan, which he soon left, preferring to continue his work as a self-taught artist. Traveling for many years all over Italy, he completed his training also through the study of ancient works.

In 1878 he made his debut in Florence, presenting a Lombard landscape painted from life. From the 1880s onward, his distinctive style emerged as an interpreter of the landscapes of Lecco, his native city. He participated in exhibitions in Milan, Turin, and Genoa, always with landscapes and studies from life, as well as views of the surroundings of Lake Lecco, and of Lake Como and Liguria.

From the mid-1880s he began to devote himself with diligence to portraiture, producing a series of studies and preparatory drawings. He undertook to portray humble workers, peasants, and women of the people in thick, tactile paintings, using a rich and dense color. From this period are also the portraits of Ermenegildo Castiglioni for the Quadreria of the Maggiore Hospital in Milan, and that of his uncle Antonio Stoppani in the Civic Museums of Lecco.

With Giuseppe Mentessi he worked in the loggia of the Palazzo della Permanente in Milan, executing fresco decorations (which were later lost during the building’s renovations in 1920).
He continued to exhibit throughout the 1920s and into part of the 1930s. He died in Milan in 1938.

He is the father of Piero (1888-1945) and of Lucio (1892-1969), who were also painters.