Andrea Sottile (1802–1856), Attributed to - Paesaggio con fiume e caseggiati - NO RESERVE

Att. to ANDREA SOTTILE
(Termini Imerese, 1802 – Palermo, 1856)
Landscape with river and houses
Oil on canvas, 51 x 69 cm
Unsigned work

NOTE: Publication catalog Intermidiart. Unsigned work. Work from a Sicilian collection. Certificate of Legitimate Provenance. Work without frame:

This painting, unpublished and from an important Sicilian collection, depicts a Landscape with a river and houses: a bucolic scene in which rural buildings rise on a rocky hill to the left, while a small waterfall feeds a stream in the foreground. On the right there is another dwelling and a solitary figure walking a path, contributing to the narrative depth of the composition.
The style and subjects are fully consistent with the Sicilian vedutismo and Romanticism of the 19th century, characterized by a particular attention to light rendition: a golden light, typical of dusk or dawn, envelops the entire landscape, highlighting its lyrical and contemplative atmosphere.
Although the work is unsigned, it bears a market attribution to the Sicilian painter Andrea Sottile (Termini Imerese, 1802 – Palermo, 1856). For cautious attribution, no definitive assignment is proposed, while recognizing in the work expressive qualities fully coherent with the maestro’s style.
The work shows significant affinities with Sottile’s production, known for his views and romantic landscapes, often characterized by warm atmospheres and scenes of daily rural life.
Born in Termini Imerese in 1802, he was a pupil of Giuseppe Velasco and Giuseppe Patania. His activity is documented in Palermo from 1837. At a moment when landscape painting, driven by growing demand, tended to transform into a quasi-serial production of images — true souvenirs produced by numerous often anonymous artists — Sottile stands out, together with Tommaso Riolo, Giovan Battista Carini and Giuseppe Tripi, among the most important landscape painters active beside and after Francesco Zerilli.
He participated in the Exhibitions of Fine Arts at the University of Palermo in 1838 and 1856. He did not devote himself exclusively to landscape painting, but also tackled mythological and sacred subjects: he is indeed present at the Exposition of Fine Arts of 1863, held at Palazzo Comitini in Palermo, with a Sacred Family and a Marriage of Saint Catherine.
Today his works are preserved at the Galleria della Regione Siciliana of Palazzo Abatellis in Palermo and in the Church of Santa Chiara in Termini Imerese.
The work, of excellent artistic and chromatic rendering, is in good condition with signs of aging visible in the photos. The dimensions of the work are 51 x 69 cm.
The painting is sold without a frame, although it is accompanied by a beautiful frame.

Provenance: Private Sicilian collection, Work kept at the Foundation L’Immacolata for Art and Culture.

Publication:
 unpublished;
 The Myths and the Territory in Sicily from a thousand cultures. UNPUBLISHED QUARTERLY catalog of the paintings in the cycle “The Myths and the Territory,” Edition, Lab_04, Marsala, 2026 (Pdf).

In the case of sale outside Italian territory, the buyer must wait for the processing times of export procedures.