Leonardo Roda (Racconigi, 1868 – Turin, 1933)
Alpine pasture Oil on hardboard, 64 × 46 cm Signed “L. Roda” bottom right
This painting is fully representative of Leonardo Roda's most significant work, a Piedmontese painter known for his Alpine views and his constant depiction of the Matterhorn massif and the pasture environments of the Aosta Valley.
The scene depicts a mountain pasture in autumn: in the foreground, a grassy slope with grazing cattle leads the eye towards a stone wall and a small rural church, elements that anchor the composition in the pastoral dimension and Alpine culture. In the background, a mountain range unfolds in degrading atmospheric planes, culminating in snow-capped peaks illuminated by a clear and diffused light.
The work highlights the distinctive features of Roda's poetics:
• balance between naturalism and lyrical sentiment of the landscape;
• rigorous but harmonious perspectival construction;
• atmospheric rendering achieved through progressive chromatic rarefaction;
• attention to rural life as an element of territorial identity.
The brushwork, more textured in the foreground and more blended in the distant planes, contributes to creating depth and luminous intensity, rendering a serene and contemplative image of the mountains.
The medium format (64 × 46 cm) confirms the work's destination for private collecting, typical of the artist's easel production in his mature period.
Dimensions with frame 87cm x 70cm – Without frame 64cm x 46cm