Filippo de Pisis © (1896 - 1956)
Chiesa dei Gesuiti a Venezia, 1944

Chiesa dei Gesuiti a Venezia, 1944
Signed and dated De Pisis 44 lower right
Oil on canvas
cm 80,5x60,3

Provenance:
Galleria d'Arte Sianesi, Milan, as per stamp on the reverse;
here acquired by the de cuius of the present owner

Artwork archived at the De Pisis Archive, curated by the Association for Filippo De Pisis, Milan, with No. 05886 as per certificate issued on October 3rd 2023

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Filippo De Pisis (Ferrara, 1896 - Milan, 1956), after having fully lived the parisian atmosphere and frequenting artists such as Manet, Corot and Matisse, joining the group of Italian artists in Paris together with De Chirico, Savinio, Tozzi and many others, during the 1940s, he re-established himself in Italy. Back in his homeland he moved first to Milan, then to Venice, where he bought a large residence, a personal gondola, and where he lived for years full of joy and adventures.

The relationship between the artist and Venice is a bond that has its roots since his youth: "everything seems to drown in the mystery of the water that laughs" he writes in Reminiscenze, in 1922; a mystery that abducts him especially when he observes the Jesuit church, here presented in this oil on canvas of 1944 characterized by rapid brushstrokes, light, and pleasant color combinations, typical of the impressionist technique. "I saw the facade stand white in profile with its statues and at the bottom appeared a gentle strip of intense blue: the lagoon, the sea and then down, like a glory of clouds the Alps with white peaks. Crazy serenity of lights and colors" (Filippo De Pisis, "Ore Veneziane", 1974).