Cesare Laurenti (Mesola, November 6, 1854 – Venice, November 8, 1936)
Oil painting on canvas depicting a Portrait study signed and dated on the upper right.
Dimensions: 88*112cm with frame
Old restorations are visible in the lower part of the painting.
There is also an expertise by Prof. Cristina Beltrami from Venice.
The lower part of the painting is unfinished as it is a study for a portrait.
Trained in Padua, he attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence and in 1878 he moved to Naples where he met Domenico Morelli. He then returned to Padua and shortly after settled in Venice, where he worked following the fashion of the time, influenced by Giacomo Favretto. He then moved on to mythological and literary subjects. After winning the prestigious Prince Umberto prize at the First Triennial Exhibition of 1891 of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Brera with the canvas Le Parche, his style became more metaphorical, until it became decidedly symbolist. This is the period of some of his most representative works, such as Fioritura Nova (preserved at Ca' Pesaro). At the 1907 Biennale he was given a personal room. At this point, Laurenti tends to recover the classic Venetian tradition, which culminated in the Pescheria di Rialto, in collaboration with the architect Domenico Rupolo. A Monument to Dante Alighieri, which he wanted to erect on Monte Mario, in Rome, will not be built: the project, presented as early as 1911, will occupy him until his death.
