Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 8

Dream of freedom

c. 1846

$8,065.59
£6,013.26
€6,800
CA$11,076.87
A$12,397.21
CHF 6,473.28
MX$151,246.66
NOK 82,169.76
SEK 77,974.04
DKK 51,794.77
Shipping
Retrieving quote...
The 1stDibs Promise:
Authenticity Guarantee,
Money-Back Guarantee,
24-Hour Cancellation

About the Item

Eliseo SALA, attributed to (Milan, 1813 – Triuggio, 1879) Dream of freedom Oil on canvas 46 x 38 cm without frame 66x 57 with frame Around 1846 Related work: La toeletta del mattino (1846) – Private collection in London Eliseo Sala was born in Milan on 2 January 1813, the son of Francesco, a grocer, and Teresa Delmati, a wealthy landowner who died the same day from complications related to childbirth. In 1821, after the death of his father, he was entrusted to the guardianship of his uncle Alessandro De Capitani d'Arzago. After completing his studies at the S. Alessandro high school, he was hired in 1830 as an apprentice in a grocery store near the Teatro alla Scala. In 1832, encouraged by the Marquis Antonio Brusca, who became his first patron, he enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts in Brera, where his teachers were Carlo Amati for the architecture course and Giuseppe Sogni for sculpture. Between 1834 and 1839 he also attended the school of nudes under the direction of Luigi Sabatelli. In 1837 he presented himself for the first time at the Exhibition of Fine Arts in Brera with six portraits, while in the 1838 edition he offered four portraits and The Flagellation of Christ, the only painting with a religious subject that he had produced during his career. In 1839, having come of age and having taken possession of his parents' property, he decided to undertake a series of study trips. He first went to Venice, invited by Ferdinando Bassi, his colleague at the Academy, and made various copies of Titian during his stay in the lagoon. Then, in 1840, he arrived in Rome, where he met Francesco Coghetti and became his friend. He then traveled throughout Europe, visiting cities in England, France and the Netherlands. Returning to Milan in 1841, he again exhibited several portraits and a painting with a historical subject. For over twenty years, Sala's presence at the periodic Exhibition of Fine Arts in Brera was almost constant. On 12 July 1844, Sala was appointed artistic member of the Brera Academy, with the qualification of historical painter. In September 1848, in the climate of political instability generated by the provisional government of Milan, and with the intention of expanding the circle of his clients, Sala moved to Intra, where he made numerous portraits of wealthy local entrepreneurs. Avoiding returning to Lombardy-Veneto, given his aversion to the Austrian government, he left Intra at the beginning of 1849 to settle in Turin and, in the spring, he took part in the exhibition of the Società promoter di belle Arti. At the end of the summer, after spending the holidays in Acqui Terme, he returned to Milan for a few months and, in November, he married Angiola Robecchi. Returning to Turin at the beginning of 1850, he entered the circle of Lombard exiles and became friends with Gabrio Casati, Teodoro Lechi, Carlo Cameroni, Felice Cerruti Bauduc, Count Carlo Carignani and his wife Claretta Tesio di Valloria, whose portraits he painted. In 1851, Ferdinando of Savoy, Duke of Genoa, commissioned him to paint the portrait of his wife Elisabeth of Saxony, a work that Sala sent to the Brera Fine Arts Exhibition. In September and October, together with the painters Costantino Prinetti and Felice De Vecchi, he made a trip to Europe: he was in London for the first Universal Exhibition, then went to Paris, Brussels, Cologne, Ostend and finally Geneva, visiting museums and galleries. On November 3, his son Giuseppe was born in Milan, and after the birth, his wife joined him in the Savoyard capital. In December 1854, he left for Paris to satisfy the request for two portraits desired by Emilia Sommariva Seillière. In 1855, he sent the Portrait of the Marquis Lodovico Trotti Bentivoglio to the Universal Exhibition in Paris. In the spring of 1858, in Casale Monferrato, he met and painted the portrait of the businessman Emilio Vitta, an art collector, with whom he went to Florence in 1860 to attend the entry into the city of Vittorio Emanuele II and then to follow the sovereign's travels to Bologna and Genoa. In 1863, Emilio Vitta commissioned him to paint the Portrait of Vittorio Emanuele II; the following year, the Royal Court of Appeal of Genoa asked him to make a full-length effigy of the sovereign. In 1866, he participated for the last time in the Brera Fine Arts Exhibition with the Portrait of Massimo d'Azeglio, which he sent to the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1867. The same year Vittorio Emanuele II awarded him the title of baron. On 20 September 1872 he was appointed Knight of the Order of the Crown of Italy and a member of the executive committee of the second National Exhibition of Fine Arts in Milan. In 1877, struck by a stroke that left him crippled, he was forced to interrupt his activity. He died on 24 June 1879 in Rancate di Triuggio (Monza). Our painting, with a similar composition, could be compared to one of the rare romantic painting by Eliseo Sala currently in a private collection in London and entitled La toeletta del mattino. Museums: Brescia, Milan (Gal. Arte Moderna, Brera), Genoa …
  • Attributed to:
    Eliseo Sala (1813 - 1879)
  • Creation Year:
    c. 1846
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 18.9 in (48 cm)Width: 14.18 in (36 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Paris, FR
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: T729 10 241stDibs: LU1954215963352

More From This Seller

View All
Meditation
By Leon Lhermitte
Located in Paris, IDF
Circle of Léon Lhermitte (1844-1925) Meditation Oil on canvas 32 x 24 cm This painting depicts an old man seated on a chair, his hands clasped in his lap, his gaze lowered, pensiv...
Category

Late 19th Century French School Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

The model in the studio
Located in Paris, IDF
School of Jacques-Louis DAVID The model in the studio Oil on canvas 81 x 59 cm without frame 96 x 73 with frame Around 1820 This seated female nude in an academic pose is painted ...
Category

Early 19th Century French School Nude Paintings

Materials

Oil

River of Italy
Located in Paris, IDF
Alphonse ROBERT (Sèvres, 1807 – Sèvres, 1885) River of Italy Oil on canvas Signed lower left 60 x 88cm Painter on porcelain and painter on canvas, Alphonse Robert was born in Sèvr...
Category

Mid-19th Century French School Landscape Paintings

Materials

Oil

Neoclassical Landscape
By Jean-Victor Bertin
Located in Paris, IDF
Circle of Jean Victor Bertin (1767-1842) Neoclassical Landscape Oil on canvas Not signed 32.5 x 40.5 cm without frame 56 x 64 cm with frame This rural scene depicts an idealized a...
Category

Early 19th Century French School Landscape Paintings

Materials

Oil

People's woman of Venice, Italy
Located in Paris, IDF
Henri Auguste Cesar SERRUR (Lambersart, 1794 – Lille, 1876) People's Woman of Venice Oil on canvas Signed, located and dated 65 x 60 cm Venice 1850 Exhibitions: - Paris Salon of 1...
Category

Mid-19th Century French School Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait of a man
By Antoine Jean Gros
Located in Paris, IDF
French school from the beginning of the 19th century Three-quarter bust portrait of a man Oil on panel 28 x 21 cm Circa 1820 This portrait of a man, typical of the French school o...
Category

Early 19th Century French School Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

You May Also Like

"Woman in Love"
Located in Jacksonville, FL
L'Innamorata A beautiful hand painted oil on canvas copy of the masterpiece L'Innamorata ( Woman in Love) by Henry Nelson O'neill 27965-LU2595214974492
Category

20th Century Paintings

Materials

Paper

unknown
Located in Los Angeles, CA
17th century oil on panel of Piazza di Spagna. Italian school. Frame later.
Category

17th Century Italian School Landscape Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

By Giovanni Stefano Danedi, known as Il Montalto
Located in Milan, IT
Giovanni Stefano Danedi, known as Montalto (Treviglio, 1612 - Milan, 1690) Penitent magdalene Oil on panel, 34 x 45 cm Framed, 44 x 57 cm Provenance: Giancarlo Sestieri Collecti...
Category

17th Century Other Art Style Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Penitent Magdalene - 17th century painter
Located in Como, IT
Penitent Magdalene Italian painter of the 17th century Oil on copper in gilt frame Size: 22x17 cm (33x28 cm including frame) Mary Magdalene is the repentant sinner who washed Jesus'...
Category

Mid-17th Century Figurative Paintings

Materials

Copper

Animated Italian Pysage
Located in Genève, GE
Work on wood Plaster and wood frame in gilded empire style 44 x 50.7 x 6 cm
Category

Early 19th Century Italian School Landscape Paintings

Materials

Oil

Italian Landscape with Figures
Located in Milford, NH
A fine 19th century Italian School oil painting on wood panel of an Italian landscape with figures dancing around a pool with a mountain backgro...
Category

19th Century Italian School Landscape Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel