Ettore Cercone, Middle Eastern Figures, 1890s, Oil

Beautiful oil painting on panel by the great Italian artist Eugenio Cecconi

Certificate of authenticity issued by Sabrina Egidi Expert of the Court and C.C.I.A.A. of Rome.
This item comes from a private collection and is therefore unpublished on the market

The painting comes with a beautiful pure gold gilded wooden frame and passe-partout


Ettore Cercone, a naval officer, was the son of Francesco Cercone and Celeste Irene.
He entered the Navy at a very young age and had reached the rank of officer by 1878.
He participated as a sailor in the Battle of Lissa, in 1866, and on that occasion he painted the pirofregata Governolo, a wooden, wheeled steamer of English manufacture belonging to the Italian Navy and on which he was embarked.
Cercone traveled to the seas of the Far East to collect specimens of marine flora and fauna, intended to augment the collections of the Naples Aquarium.
He went as far as Japan, China and Australia; he visited Egypt and Spain. Between 1883 and 1884 he painted marine plants and animals, again for the Naples Aquarium.
In 1888 he was taken off active duty and entered the reserve. In 1890 he was appointed lieutenant commander.

His works were used for the album La rivoluzione napoletana del 1799, edited by Benedetto Croce and published in 1899, for the centenary of the 1799 revolution and released, therefore, after Cercone's death.

His painting shows clear references to paintings by Neapolitan artists active in the late 19th century, particularly those of Domenico Morelli.
Around 1880 he also began to paint oriental figures, then in great demand among collectors, to decorate the drawing rooms of the bourgeoisie. Great expressiveness have his figures of women.