9. Francesco Jacovacci (Italian, 1838-1908)

Interior scene with mother, baby and nurse.
Oil on wood panel, signed lower right, dated 1876, framed.
14" x 10- 3/8".

6,000/9,000     SOLD: $8,740.00

Roman-born Francesco Jacovacci (Iacovacci) enjoyed a successful painting career both in Italy and in Paris. He produced this charming domestic scene in the 1870s after having fallen profoundly under the influence of Mariano Fortuny (1838-1874)--a Spanish artist with whom he had trained in Paris.

Today Fortuny's impact upon artists of the second half of the 19th century has been somewhat eclipsed by the contributions of the Impressionists. Nonetheless, Fortuny did, in fact, exert a significant impact upon painters of Jacovacci's generation in his penchant for creating scintillating light effects through dazzling diagonal brushwork. Unlike the Impressionists, Fortuny's technique did not dissolve form into a rather amorphous impression of reflections and shadows. Rather, he kept a fairly high level of detail and three-dimensionality while allowing the surfaces of his carefully rendered objects to shimmer.

In this work by Jacovacci, Fortuny's legacy is particularly apparent in the way the women's white mantillas are rendered. The open lacework allows light to shine through in small pockets. In addition, Jacovacci chose to depict a variety of satiny fabrics, which catch the shimmering light and show the the artist's technique to greatest advantage.

Condition: Recently cleaned and varnished, negligible amount of inpainting spots, minor crazing in background to right side, frame is new. Overall very well preserved.