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Ferdinando BrambillaFerdinando Brambilla (Milan, 1838-1921), The Nun of Monza19th Century
19th Century
$2,635.92
£1,961.90
€2,200
CA$3,610.55
A$4,015.72
CHF 2,096.88
MX$48,866.98
NOK 26,780.38
SEK 25,115.27
DKK 16,747.83
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Ferdinando Brambilla (Milan, 1838-1921)
The nun of Monza
Oil on canvas, 60.5x49 cm
Signed and dated lower right "Brambilla 1868"
The painting depicts a nun caught in the intimate and personal act of reading sacred scripture. In the center of the composition, the figure of the nun dominates the scene, dressed in a dark dress and a white veil framing her face. The gaze, gentle and absorbed, is turned toward the observer, a serene and slightly questioning expression that invites direct eye contact. In his hands he holds an open book, whose pages seem to absorb his attention, even if momentarily diverted. Behind him, through a large window, a particularly striking view can be glimpsed: indeed, the imposing Gothic spires of Monza Cathedral appear clearly in evidence. This allows us to be able to identify the portrayed with Gertrude, the absolute nun protagonist of the ninth chapter of Manzoni's Promessi Sposi. The light filtering in from outside gently illuminates the nun's face and the pages of the book, creating an atmosphere of stillness and contemplation. The painting as a whole conveys a sense of calm and devotion, suggesting a moment of personal study or reflection.
Ferdinando Brambilla was born in Milan on July 8, 1838. He attended the school of Sogni at Brera, oscillating between neo-Renaissance and Romantic modes, and then moved on to those of Hayez and Casnedi. With the latter he collaborated on the fresco decoration - later replaced by mosaics and now lost - of the octagon of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele in Milan (lunettes of America and Art). As a fresco painter, Brambilla was also active at the Tempio dell'Incoronata in Lodi, where he painted the allegorical figures on the pilasters of the upper floor, conducted with a certain pictorial warmth, the Fatti di S. Marco in the chapel dedicated to the saint in S. Simpliciano in Milan. In the oil paintings of his early period he favored historical themes, not insensitive to the modes of theatrical melodrama, as seen in Margherita degli Acciaiuoli and the junk dealer Giovanni dalla Palla, which won the 1867 Brera Triennial Prize (Milan, Pinacoteca di Brera). Other prize-winning works of his were the 1872 Pompeian Bath and the Slave Market in Morocco, Prince Umberto prize at the Brera Exposition (see Illustraz. ital., Sept. 21, 1879, p. 183), once in the Cusani Visconti collection in Milan. He died in Milan in 1921 after a career studded with various academic awards.
Beginning in the 1840s, thanks in part to the incredible popularity of the figure of the nun of Monza in The Betrothed (it is necessary to remember that, in the so-called Ventisettana edition, the episode of Gertrude appeared to be further deepened compared to what happens in the final version, the Quarantana), the depiction of religious figures became common as far as the Italian pictorial panorama was concerned: to confirm this phenomenon we need only think of the intriguing representations of the fascinating Manzonian character enacted by Giuseppe Molteni and Mosè Bianchi and the depiction of a beautiful young nun proposed by the now elderly Francesco Hayez in the final stages of his career in 1879. Further augmenting this phenomenon is also the great success of the neo-Gothic novel, often marked by a convent setting, of which The Monk by Matthew Gregory Lewis proves to be one of the earliest examples
- Creator:Ferdinando Brambilla (1838 - 1921, Italian)
- Creation Year:19th Century
- Dimensions:Height: 23.63 in (60 cm)Width: 19.3 in (49 cm)
- More Editions & Sizes:cm 60,5x49Price: $2,636
- Medium:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Milan, IT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU2639216689522
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