Studio RT Ltd

Description

We are excited to offer for auction this huge watercolour by the Italian artist Giovanni Barbaro who has signed the painting in the lower right corner. The painting is a still life of fruit, one of the subjects in which he specialised, and depicts an array of fruit around a circular blue and white pottery vase. There are several oranges, one peeled half way down, one completely peeled and split into segments, a melon, several bunches of red and purple grapes, and a few strawberries in the foreground, all painted so realistically that they almost look good enough to eat!

Giovanni Barbaro was a fruit, flower and fish painter, and he also painted desert and North African scenes, Italian views, some portraits, as well as still life. He was living in London in 1890, moved to Bath in 1901 and returned to London in 1906.

He was born in Amalfi, Italy on 16th April 1864. He married his wife Amy nee Dawson, who was also a flower, fruit and still life artist in Rome in 1897 and in 1901, they went to New York. In the 1901 Census they were living at 33 Carlton Crescent Southampton, presumably before moving to Bath and Giovanni is listed as a retired courier, while his wife was listed as a watercolour artist. In the1911 Census they were living in an apartment at 31 Pelham Street Kensington, both listed as artists, but on 10th October 1915, Giovanni died and he was buried in Chiswick Old Cemetery in Hounslow, where Amy was also buried after she died on 20th February, 1937.

It has been generally thought that Giovanni Barbara was the pseudonym of an English artist called Arthur Dudley, but this is patently not the case. There are no census records in this country for Giovanni Barbaro prior to 1901. Whereas Graves Dictionary lists Arthur Dudley as having exhibited 11 flower paintings from a London address between 1890 and 1893 and Amy Dawson, also from a London address having exhibited 3 flower paintings at Suffolk Street between 1889 and 1891. The Dictionary of British Artists echoes this information, and shows Arthur Dudley in London in 1890 and 1906 and Bath in 1901. Mr. A.Dudley was also exhibitin at Elands Art Gallery in Exeter prior to Amy's marriage to Giovanni Barbara at a time when Amy's friend was also exhibiting there and Amy was in the locality. In June of this year, 2 watercolours of North African scenes signed Amy Barbaro were auctioned for $11,500, so she and Giovanni might both have painted similarly.

We have ourselves checked out most of this information on Census and Birth, and death records, but a fuller list of all the above is available on google search by putting in the name of Giovanni Barbaro.

His auction results are listed on artprice 256 results, findartinfo 152, artnet 45 and arcadja 54. His work is quoted under both names in Hislop's Guide to the UK Art Market. A pair of paintings of similar size and subject made £700 at Tennants, Leyburn in 2005, another pair made £800 at Sotheby's in 2001 and a single painting achieved £500 at Bonhams in 2003.

The painting has been newly double mounted in two tone to complement and is newly framed in a 2" gilt frame to suit. It will be supplied wired and ready to hang.

Image size 28" x 11 3/4" - 71.1cm x 32.4cm

Frame size 37 3/4" x 21 1/2" - 95.75cm x 54.6cm

Medium Watercolours

Condition Excellent. The mounts and frame are new.