Attribuito a Michelangelo Pittatore (1825–1903) - Ritratto di Nobile

Interesting oil-on-canvas painting attributed to the painter Michelangelo Pittatore (1825–1903) in good preservation. The painting measures 83x64 cm. The frame is contemporaneous with the work and requires restoration on the friezes.
In the quiet Piedmontese town of Asti, on February 12, 1825, Michelangelo Pittatore was born, destined to become the painter who would give image and artistic dignity to the emerging bourgeoisie of his time. Son of Sebastiano, a craftsman who had abandoned painting to devote himself to carpentry and decoration, Michelangelo showed from a young age an innate talent for art. At only eleven years old, his father entrusted him to the care of the painter Agostino Cottolengo, brother of the better known Giuseppe Benedetto, so that he could cultivate his gifts.
In 1839, barely fourteen, Michelangelo moved to Rome to continue his studies at the Accademia di San Luca. The Eternal City, with its artistic and cultural wealth, offered the young painter the opportunity to refine his technique and to come into contact with illustrious personalities of the time. Attending the Antico Caffè Greco, a meeting place for artists and intellectuals, he formed a friendship with the German painter Rudolf Lehmann and met other figures of the international art scene.
During his Roman sojourn, the cultural vitality deeply influenced his production, leading him to realize genre works that, despite their apparent simplicity, reflected the anxieties and aspirations of the rising new bourgeois class. Among these stand out “The Smoker” and “The Drinker,” paintings that capture moments of daily life with extraordinary sensitivity.
In 1855, Pittatore returned to Asti, where he mainly devoted himself to portraiture, immortalizing the faces of artisans, patrons, entrepreneurs, politicians, and local intellectuals. His works offer a snapshot of Asti society in the nineteenth century, highlighting the pride and determination of a bourgeoisie on the rise. Among his most celebrated portraits is that of his maternal uncle, Giovanni Matteo Palmiero, mayor of Asti, depicted with a gold earring in the lobe of the right ear, a distinctive symbol of the Crimea War veterans.
Michelangelo Pittatore’s painterly style is distinguished by the softness of the brushwork and attention to detail, features that give his works extraordinary vitality and realism. Rejecting Baroque mysticism and the affected rococo, the artist adopted a more sober and direct approach, focusing on an authentic representation of the subjects. In his portraits, a deep understanding of the human soul emerges, with particular attention to facial expressions and posture, elements that reveal the character and mood of the depicted individuals.
Michelangelo Pittatore passed away in his beloved Asti on March 24, 1903, leaving behind a rich collection of works that still testify to the city’s cultural and social vitality in the nineteenth century. His canvases, housed in museums and private collections, continue to tell stories of daily life, passions, and aspirations of an era now distant but still alive through his paintings.
Provenance: Italian antique market
Fast shipping with secure packaging