Geneva, Rue De L'Hôtel De Ville - Lithograph by A. Fontanesi - 1854 1854

Image dimensions: 20.5 x 15 cm. This splendid lithograph Interieur de Geneve. Rue De L'Hôtel De Ville is part of the series of 20 prints dedicated to views of the city of Geneva, engraved by the Italian artist Antonio Fontanesi in 1854. The lithograph is applied on cardboard. The state of preservation of the artwork is excellent. The signature is engraved on the stone on the lower left. At the top of the paper, the inscription “Interieur de Geneve”, while at the bottom, below the image, the inscription “JMP Pilet & Cougnard Editeurs Geneve”. Below, the writing “Rue De L'Hôtel De Ville” is printed. Antonio Fontanesi (Reggio Emilia, 1818 - Turin, 1882) was an Italian painter, engraver, teacher, and soldier. He was one of the most important 19th-century Italian painters, though somewhat unknown. After fighting in the I Independence War, he moved to Geneva, where he met local painters that encouraged him to paint landscapes and to open to European artistic novelties. In Paris, he met Corot and Barbizon painters, whilst in London he was influenced by Turner’s and Constable’s works. He taught in Lucca, Turin, and then in Tokyo. His artworks are very suggestive, rich in lyricism and in melancholic, Romantic and, according to some scholars, Pre-Symbolist atmospheres. Fontanesi observed and studied natural reality to reach a deeper and more universal motive and to find, reflected, human feelings: for this reason, he is considered one of the most emblematic Italian Romantic painters of the European Romantic movement. He was also a fine draftsman and expert etcher: his etchings and lithographs, like in this case, are characterized by the same research on atmospheric values as in painting, with synthetic and essential light effects. This is a beautiful artwork, an excellent engraving, depicting a Romantic view on a peculiar place in Geneva. The image shows two elegant men whilst conversing, and a dog. This artwork is shipped from Italy. Under existing legislation, any artwork in Italy created over 70 years ago by an artist who has died requires a licence for export regardless of the work’s market price. The shipping may require additional handling days to require the licence according to the final destination of the artwork.