Studio RT Ltd

Description

We are delighted to offer for sale this excellent portrait of a lady by the Italian artist Antonio Zoppi, who has inscribed the painting in the top right hand corner as follows 'Alla Signora K. Tod-Mercer con rispettosa amicizia offre A. Zoppi Firenze 1.1923.' The translation of this is 'To Mrs. K. Tod-Mercer with respectful friendship offered A. Zoppi Florence January 1923'.

We presume that the sitter is Mrs. Tod-Mercer, who is a very elegant lady. She is seated in a high backed gold upholstered chair with wooden scroll arms and barley twist supports. She is wearing a black choker with pendant attached around her neck and gold rings on the third finger of her left hand. Her dress in an aubergine colour, with an overdress of semi-transparent black material, the bottom half of which is embroidered and the v-shaped neckline and the sleeves are edged with gold braid. She is holding a book.

Unfortunately, we have been unable to discover any details about the sitter, but she was obviously a friend of the artist. The only Mrs. Tod-Mercer that we have found was a passenger on a ship from London to Australia in 1889. Could this be her?

Antonio Zoppi was born in Novara, Piedmont, Italy on 13th November 1860. He was a painter of genre, costume scenes, portraits and landscapes. He exhibited in Rome, Milan and Turin. He died in Florence on 28th April 1926.

Biography Wikipedia

Listed in Benezit Volume 8.

The record price for a painting by this artist is £20,367 plus premium at Shannons Auction in Connecticut, USA in 2007, which was a 42" x 32" oil. His paintings, particularly the costume scenes, achieve high prices and for further information, please see artnet (55 listings), artprice (48), findartinfo (13) or arcadja (16).

The painting has been newly framed in a 5" ornate dull gilt frame, which complements the painting very well. It will be supplied wired and ready to hang.

Medium Oils on canvas