Enzo Morelli (1896-1976) - Milano, Basilica di Sant'Eustorgio

Author

Enzo Morelli (1896-1976) was an Italian painter. Born in Bagnacavallo, he later studied at the Brera Academy in Milan, the city that became his main operational center. He developed a painting style influenced by the Italian movement 'Novecento,' exhibiting a composed monumentality and a 'return to order' that looked back to the masters of the Quattrocento. He distinguished himself through sharp and essential drawing and a chromatic palette capable of evoking atmospheres of suspended serenity, allowing him to stand out both in national exhibitions, such as the Venice Biennale, and in the challenging fields of mural decoration and sacred art.

Morelli's artistic maturity was fully expressed in his ability to elevate the everyday, effortlessly ranging from intimate portraiture to landscape painting, with a particular preference for views of Lake Garda, where he retired and died in Bogliaco in 1976. In addition to easel painting, he left a significant mark through important public commissions, creating frescoes and mosaics for churches and civic buildings that demonstrate his skill in managing large spaces with compositional balance.

Description

Milan, Basilica di Sant'Eustorgio, oil on canvas, 66*81cm with frame, 40*55cm the canvas alone, 1948, signed and dated at the bottom left. On the back of the stretcher, signature and title.

View of the famous Milanese complex, captured from the apical perspective overlooking what is now the Parco delle Basiliche, with the tall bell tower of the Basilica of Sant'Eustargio standing out. The composition is resolved through a skillful balance between the horizontal mass of the low buildings and the decisive vertical thrust of the bell tower, which acts as the visual and chromatic pivot of the entire scene. The painting style appears quick, substantial, and concise, defining the volumes almost as blocks of color, allowing the diffuse light to shape the forms. The color palette is dominated by delicate, low-saturation tones that blend with a dense, textured sky, evoking the gloomy and suspended atmosphere typical of the Lombard urban landscape.

The painting is situated in the full maturity of Enzo Morelli, documenting a phase where the formal rigor of the 'Twentieth Century' gives way to a more immediate and emotional expression, reflecting the uncertain climate of reconstruction. In this canvas, the artist abandons rhetorical monumentality to embrace an intimate and silent view, where the absence of human figures emphasizes the almost metaphysical character of the architecture. It is a painting of beautiful and refined composition, with a pleasing aesthetic impact.

Condition Report

Excellent overall condition, vivid and well-readable color and brushwork. The frame is considered a gift.

Tracked and insured shipment with adequate packaging.