1860 - 1890 - XIX

GPB 679

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 86.2; Larghezza: 43

olio su tela

Venezia - 1991<br>Genova - 1984<br>Venezia - 1983<br>Venezia - 1959<br>Collezioni di Luigi e G.B Lazzaro Frugone - Palazzo Bianco, Genova - 1938

Dating back to 1890, the year in which it won the gold medal at the Boston Exhibition, the work is a female portrait composed with great skill and elegance, emphasising the independent character of the subject – a sort of early feminist manifesto, slightly tempered, in reality, by the habit of Venetian ladies of frequenting cafés alone. In the coquettish pose indicated by the raised little finger, the work contains two themes of the painting of the time: a portrait and a view, that of Venice, which can be seen beyond the window in the background of the painting. The painting can be compared to the slightly earlier portrait “Signora con veletta” (Lady with Veil) from the Bianchini collection in Venice, which depicts the same character in half-length, at the same table in the same café, absorbed in unknown thoughts. The painting depicts a young woman sitting and sipping a cup of coffee during a break from reading the Gazzettino di Venezia newspaper. The woman's bust emerges from the white of the newspaper, which is echoed by the whiteness of the landscape. The woman's dark dress is accented by a bright tartan taffeta bow, while her forehead and eyes are partially hidden by the veil of a hat decorated with satin ribbons.