Umberto Lilloni - Flowers from a Chinese Vase

Flowers as a subject in themselves began to appear in still lifes, a genre that emerged in the early 17th century. Subsequently, painters, especially the Impressionists, increasingly focused on the floral world as an extraordinary opportunity to capture vibrant colors and light. Thus, flowers began to appear not only in vases, but also immersed in their natural landscape. While initially a pretext for painters to attempt a photographic reproduction of reality, with contemporary art, the subject of flowers also becomes a way of interpreting reality.

Umberto Lilloni, a leading figure of the Lombard Chiaristi, confirms the distinctiveness of his artistic approach in this work. Although chromatically speaking, we don't find the immersion in light that characterizes his landscape paintings, these flowers nonetheless display the same calligraphic touch, the same brushstroke technique. Everything is imbued with the same intangible, two-dimensional consistency, typical of Lilloni and other Chiaristi masters. His stylization of the petals and leaves is characteristic, drawing on a certain influence from Japanese art.

Umberto Lilloni was a Milanese painter, born in 1898 and died in 1980. He was one of the leading exponents of the Chiaristi Lombardi. He trained at the Brera Academy and in 1922 received the Pensionato Hayez prize. For a time, he was drawn to the Novecento group, but felt that this style of painting was unsuited to his nature. Thus, by studying Emilio Gola and Lombard landscape painting, he developed a concept of light-ground painting. From 1927 to 1941, Lilloni taught at the Brera Academy, and from 1941 to 1962, he held a professorship at the Academy of Fine Arts in Parma.

The transaction takes place with maximum security for both the seller and the buyer. We take care of the conformity (provenance, authenticity, state of conservation) of the work and handle the shipping.
Returns are possible no later than 14 days after receiving the order.