Francesco Gonin (1808-1889), Attributed to - Pietro Rossi al comando dell'armata veneziana contro gli Scaligeri

Francesco Gonin (Turin, 1808 – Giaveno, 1889), attributed
Pietro Rossi is invited to take command of the Venetian army to fight against the Scaligeri
Oil on canvas, 50 x 64 cm
Framed, 66 x 81 cm

The painting depicts the moment when Pietro Rossi, lord of Parma, receives an invitation from the Republic of Venice to lead the Venetian army against the Scaligeri, while he is still engaged in defending Pontremoli, which is under siege by Veronese troops. Set in an austere architectural interior punctuated by arches and a checkerboard floor, the scene is built around the gesture of a messenger who holds the soldier back and points to the palace exit, while the women of his family—his wives and daughters—crowd around the commander, their pleading expressions attempting to keep him from leaving. The contrast between the call of public duty and private affections is conveyed through the characters’ expressive faces, illuminated by warm light that heightens their pathos, and through the vivid, antiquity-inspired costumes, reminiscent of the theatrical and literary fashions of the period. The episode, drawn from a fourteenth-century chronicle recounted by Sismondi in his History of the Italian Republics in the Middle Ages and, more specifically, from Laugier’s Histoire de la République de Venise, became a highly popular subject in Risorgimento painting, which saw in it an exaltation of individual sacrifice for the collective cause and an emphasis on family feelings as a reflection of civic virtues. The attribution to Francesco Gonin is supported by a number of stylistic affinities with other works by him. The treatment of the faces, particularly the poignant intensity of the gazes and the soft chiaroscuro of the features, closely recalls Paolo and Francesca, now in a private collection, which shares the same ability to convey the characters’ inner conflict in a single expression. Gertrude Decides to Become a Nun, also in a private collection, likewise shares with our painting a focus on theatrical gestures and the pyramidal arrangement of the figures, as well as a similar use of white drapery to isolate and highlight the central female figure. The same patriotic spirit is found in The Heroic Death of the Mounted Carabiniere Giovanni Battista Scapaccino, which celebrates a recent historical event in terms of heroic sacrifice, using a visual language akin to that employed for Pietro Rossi. Finally, the hall with personifications of the elements at Porta Nuova station in Turin attests to Gonin’s solid handling of architecture and command of perspective in interior spaces, qualities also evident in the painting’s scenographic composition. Francesco Gonin trained at the Academy of Painting and Sculpture in Turin, now the Accademia Albertina, between 1820 and 1828, studying under Lorenzo Pécheux and Giovanni Battista Biscarra. He specialized in historical portraits, landscapes, and genre scenes, while also working as an illustrator of literary works. He collaborated with the workshop of Rodolfo Morgari, a painter and restorer of the Royal Palaces, and around 1830 became friends with Massimo d’Azeglio, for whom he redrew the illustrations for Ettore Fieramosca in 1833. A stay in Milan in 1835 brought him into contact with Alessandro Manzoni, who commissioned him to illustrate The Betrothed, published in installments between 1839 and 1842. Many of his portraits and frescoes adorn the Savoy residences, including the Castle of Racconigi and the Royal Palace in Turin, as well as several churches in the city and Porta Nuova station. Through this body of work, Gonin firmly established himself within the tradition of Italian Risorgimento painting, which combined historical rigor with Romantic sensitivity to personal affections and patriotic values, helping to disseminate, through images and illustrations, a shared vision of the emerging national identity.

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