An Episode from Sienese History (“The Beautiful Marsilia”?)
The presence of the standard of Siena (the black-and white shield known as the Balzana) and the style of clothing indicate a subject connected with the history of the city in the sixteenth century, perhaps recounted in a novel or short story from the Romantic period, which could be identified
Sienese Women Working on the Fortifications of the City (bozzetto)
While in Rome on a Biringucci fellowship, Aldi worked for a long time on the painting of Sienese Women Working on the Fortifications of the City, which he sent to the Società degli Esecutori di Pie Disposizioni in Siena in 1878 to request an extension of his fellowship. The many
La Fornarina Surprised by Raphael (bozzetto)
Alongside the large-scale paintings of historical and religious subjects presented at the most important public exhibitions and made on commission, during his years in Rome the artist also produced pleasant subjects in a small format, destined for the homes of the new middle class, who particularly appreciated gallant scenes in
Allegorical Scene (The Art of Navigation? Astronomy?)
The study, which is not mentioned by Aldi’s biographers, presents a female figure with a world globe and maps inspiring a fisherman about to set off in his boat, suggesting a representation of the art or science of navigation or of Astronomy as a guide for navigators. The allegorical subject
Marina
Aldi made this study of a wide vista of the open sea from life, on the Maremma coast, in preparation for the painting The Funeral of Pompey the Great, presented at the Art Exposition in Turin in 1881. Against the stretch of calm sea, the grieving figures of Pompey’s last
Figures along the Walls
The clothing from another era worn by the three figures next to the low wall suggests that this is a study for a history painting. However the true protagonist is the landscape: a hill town like those in Maremma so dear to Aldi (Manciano or Capalbio), dominating a wide valley
Portrait of a Blonde Girl
The spiritual expression on her adolescent face, with her large eyes looking upwards, is the principal characteristic of the final work for which Aldi prepared this study: Angel Intercessors Praying for the Souls of the Dead, painted in 1883 in the Pollini chapel of the Misericordia cemetery in Siena.
Study of a Boy for The Meeting at Teano
In this oil sketch, Aldi establishes the pose of the young boy climbing a tree to see the meeting at Teano between King Victor Emanuel II and Giuseppe Garibaldi, painted in 1886 in the Risorgimento Room of Siena’s Palazzo Pubblico. The presence of the figure has a special compositional importance,
Study for the Praying Angel in the Pollini Chapel
This oil sketch is a preparatory study for the fresco of Angel Intercessors Praying for the Souls of the Dead, painted in 1883 in the Pollini chapel of the Misericordia cemetery in Siena, praised by the local press for the leaden effect of the late afternoon light illuminating the landscape,
The Meeting of Mary Magdalene and Jesus
This oil sketch is linked with a painting long meditated by Aldi during the years he spent in Rome on a fellowship awarded by the Società di Esecutori di Pie Disposizioni in Siena. After an early study of a half-figure Mary Magdalene, sent in 1876, the artist made numerous drawings
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