Giulio CERVI (born in Rome in 1856) "The invitation"

Oil on canvas signed and dated 1881, lower right
Dimensions : H. 64 x W. 42 cm (with frame : H. 88 x W. 66,5 cm)

Giulio Cervi is a Roman artist active in the second half of the 19th century. He studied at the "Accademia di San Luca" in Rome. He exhibited in Turin in the 1880s, as well as at the 1887 National Exhibition in Venice. Cervi is a leading academic painter. He mastered drawing perfectly, especially in the representation of characters that he staged with great virtuosity.

Giulio Cervi likes to describe the Italian high society of the late 19th century. He excels in the representation of faces and hands as well as in the representation of fabrics and costumes that he reproduces with an astonishing realism.

In this painting, the artist delivers a very cleverly studied composition. The staircase forms a diagonal that invites the viewer's eye to focus on the details of the second floor. In the main scene, the costumes of the two characters are of an exacerbated richness; and thanks to a skilful background, the sky and a flowery vegetation gives nevertheless to this composition an impression of freedom and lightness. We are undoubtedly in the presence of a particularly successful work by this delicate artist.

To note, an absolutely perfect state of conservation. The canvas is original, no accident is to report. The painting is in its magnificent original frame, in wood and stucco gilded with leaf; it has been perfectly restored.