Tito Pellicciotti (1871 – 1950) - Ritratto di gatto accucciato

Fine and intimate oil painting of small format depicting a striped cat (Siamese) caught with extraordinary expressive immediacy. The work is distinguished by a lively, dense, and material brushwork, capable of conveying, with a few skilled touches of light, the softness of the feline coat and the vivid tension of the animal's gaze. The rapid study from life and the choice of a genre subject recall the fresher and more recherché production of Italian naturalist painting at the end of the 19th century and the early 20th, attributable to the hand of the Abruzzese master Tito Pellicciotti. Trained at the Naples Academy of Fine Arts under the influence of masters such as Domenico Morelli and Filippo Palizzi, Pellicciotti managed to fuse Neapolitan verismo with a careful and engaged study of the animal world. The work bears the clearly brush-made signature “Pellicciotti” in the lower right corner. The highly valuable element that enhances the piece is its important antique wooden frame, finely carved, pierced, and leaf-gilded. Characterized by a rich ornamentation of volutes, scrolls, and thick foliate motifs of baroque flavor, the frame presents a patinated era gilding of great scenographic and aesthetic impact. The painting, which measures 17.5 x 14 cm, is set in the center and highlighted by a neutral fabric mat finished with a gilded inner profile, bringing the overall dimensions of the object to 45 x 39.5 cm. The work is presented in an overall good and contemporaneous state of preservation. The painted surface retains its original patina and a light, natural craquelure consistent with the period. The antique frame is structurally solid and shows the physiological signs of time and very small wear of the era gilding, elements that enhance its charm and guarantee its authenticity. For maximum collectible transparency, it should be noted that the back of the structure bears a closure system and a central filling panel resulting from a later mounting and adaptation, perfectly stable and functional to the painting’s support and conservation.