Scuola italiana (XX), Firmati Pugliese - Paesaggi di mare

Important pair of Italian paintings signed “Pugliese”, created by the same author and conceived as pendants, both dedicated to the Mediterranean coastal landscape.

The works are two original oil on canvas, large in size, 93 × 73 cm each including the frame, and are presented in two perfectly identical frames, richly worked in relief, with a gilded and darkened finish and a wide ivory-colored inner band. Displayed side by side they achieve an overall development of almost two meters, creating a decorative presence of notable impact.

The compositions depict lively Italian seascapes, with towns facing the water, boats, fishermen and figures along the coast. The palette alternates marine blues and greens with pinks, ochres, reds and earthy tones, with particular attention to atmospheric luminosity and reflections on the water.

The style belongs to Italian figurative painting of an impressionist and post-impressionist matrix from the second half of the twentieth century. The representation remains recognizable, but is built through rapid and vigorous brushstrokes, color superpositions and a highly free use of material.

Particularly significant is the strongly impasto technique of oil on canvas. The color is laid on in generous quantities with brush and spatula, forming crests, reliefs and accumulations clearly perceptible also laterally. The close-up photographs document the three-dimensional texture of the painting and the manual handling of the surface.

Near some edges there are also traces of compression of the paint masses corresponding to the framing, compatible with mounting carried out when some areas of color were not yet completely dry. An interesting detail that documents materially the history of creation and mounting of the works.

Both paintings bear the signature “Pugliese” placed by hand in the corner: in one work the signature is at bottom right, in the other at bottom left. The signatures are clearly visible and photographically documented.

The works can be placed approximately in the second half of the 20th century, about the 1960s–1980s. The author is not further identified beyond the signature “Pugliese”; therefore no attribution to a specific homonymous artist is offered in the absence of documentation.

The general conditions are good and consistent with age. Normal signs of time on the painting surface and on the frames are present. The photographs constitute an integral part of the description and show in detail the state, painting material and signatures.