Gaetano Fasanotti (Milan, 1831 – 1882)
The Return from Fishing
Oil on canvas, 32 x 52 cm – With frame, 43 x 63 cm
Signed and dated lower right: "G. Fasanotti 1874"
"The frankness of the brushstroke, the infinite variety of reflections, the richness of the palette are gifts that stand out. He knows how to capture the most characteristic aspect of a place, the most artistic form of an object... it is nature, it is truly nature!": these are the words with which critics described Gaetano Fasanotti's painting (Milan, 1831 – 1882) on the occasion of the Second National Exhibition of Fine Arts in Milan in 1873.
Born in Milan in 1831, Fasanotti distinguished himself in the 19th-century artistic landscape for his dedication to landscape and genre painting. A self-taught artist, far from academic circles, in 1848 he decided to voluntarily enlist in the First War of Independence (1848 – 1849), a circumstance that initially influenced him towards historical painting (see The Descent of Berengarius in Italy, now preserved at the Accademia Carrara in Bergamo). It was from 1856, under the guidance of the private master Giovanni Renica, that Fasanotti began to shift artistically towards the representation of nature, initiating a change of course that marked the beginning of a successful career. His passion for landscapes and natural environments, especially for the landscapes of Brianza, the Lombard Prealps, and Valsassina, led him to develop a style capable of skillfully combining a genuine and luminous rendering of subjects with an extremely attentive approach to realistic detail. Considered among the pioneers of plein air painting in Italy, after the moderate success achieved with "Veduta dal vero nell'Oberland" purchased in 1858 by the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, in 1860 Fasanotti became professor of landscape painting at the same Academy, exerting a decisive influence on the training of new generations of artists such as Filippo Carcano, Eugenio Gignous, Guido Ricci, Federico Ashton, and the brothers Ernesto and Leonardo Bazzaro, among his main students, to whom he taught the importance of painting outdoors, directly from nature. This innovation, opposed by the academic council and by critics still strongly linked to Romanticism, which forced him to resign, actually led to the rebirth of the Lombard landscape school, contributing to a renewed interest in Italian natural beauties. He participated in important international events, such as the Universal Exposition of Paris in 1867, the Universal Exposition of Monaco in 1869, and the Universal Exposition of Vienna in 1873, achieving international fame and recognition. Today his works, identifiable by his unique ability to capture the atmosphere of places with vivacity of colors and light, are preserved in the main institutions of northern Italy, including the Accademia Carrara in Bergamo, Villa Necchi Campiglio, the Galleria d'Arte Moderna in Milan, the Pinacoteca di Brera, the Civic Museums of Pavia, the Civic Museum Ala Ponzone of Cremona, and many others. Masanotti died in 1882 in Milan.
In the work under examination, an oil on canvas from 1874 signed lower right and depicting the moment of return from a fishing trip on the riverbank, the artist illuminates the scene with a clear and diffused light, typical of plein air painting. The composition of the rural episode appears perfectly balanced, with the large barge in the center surrounded by a crowd of figures animating the shore, while the earthy tones and the clear sky contribute to creating a peaceful yet vital atmosphere.
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