(Trieste 1856–1922 Venice)
“Pace”, signed, dated P. Fragiacomo 1891, oil on canvas, 93 x 156 cm, framed, (GG)

Provenance:
King Umberto I. (1844-1900) for the Royal Villa in Monza;
Private Collection Italy.

Exhibited:
Milan, Brera, Prima Esposizione Triennale 1891, No. .223;
Venice, XIV. Venice Biennale 1924, room 34 (personal exhibition), No. 1.

Catalogued and illustrated in:
Exhibition catalogue, Prima Esposizione Triennale, Arturo Demarchi, Mailand 1891, p. 33, No. 223;
Cronaca dell’Esposizione di Belle Arti, Brera, A. Miazzoni & C., Mailand p. 38, 43, 51, 57, supplementary volume, No. 13 (18.06.1891/ill.);
Vittorio Grubicy de Dragon, Prima Esposizione Triennale. Brera 1891. Milan, 1891, p. 89, 92;
V. Pica, L’Arte Mondiale alle VI Esposizione di Venezia, Emporium, 1901, p. 16;
V. Pica, Artisti contemporanei: Pietro Fragiacomo, vol. XXII, Emporium, 1905, p. 412;
V. Colombo, Le più belle opere d’arte esposte nelle mostre di Brera dal 1869 al 1910. Premio Principe Umberto, Alfieri & Lacroix, Milan, 1911, p. 39;
Exhibition catalogue, XIX. Venice Biennale, 1924, S. 107, Nr. 1;
A.M. Comanducci, I pittori Italiani dell’Ottocento, Artisti d’Italia ed., Milan 1934, p. 253;
M. G. Rutteri, La pittura triestina della seconda metà dell’Ottocento ed i suoi rapporti con gli altri ambienti europei, Triest 1957, p. 208;
L. Rossi, Il pittore Pietro Fragiacomo, 1971-1972, p. 200-201, No. 171, Fig. 78;
M. Monteverdi, storia della Pittura italiana dell’Ottocento, Vol. II, Bramante ed., Milan 1975, No. 775;
C. Biamonti, il pittore Pietro Fragicomo, University of Trieste, Udine 1985, p. 202;
G. Piantoni, F. Leeman, Ottocento/Novecento. Italiaanse Kunst 1870-1910, exhibition catalogue, Waanders ed., Zwolle, 1988, p. 94;
W. Abrami, Pietro Fragiacomo, in: I Grandi Vecchi. Dipingere in tarda età, exhibition catalogue, Trieste, 1991, p. 38;
P. Pistellato, la pittura in Italia, il Novecento, Electa ed., Milan 1992, p. 894;
Paolo Campopiano, Pietro Fragiacomo -Poeta lagunare, Cremona, 1996, p. 13-14, 36, No. 34;
Andrea Baboni, Pietro Fragiacomo, Fondazione CRTrieste, 2016, p. 182, 343, No. 196.

Painted in 1891, “Pace” [peace] belongs to a series of three works depicting the sunset on the lagoon that captivated Fragiacomo. The three works in the series are held in a private collection, including the oil painting from the same year titled Pace II and a mixed-technique piece from 1898.

The present lot was exhibited in Milan in 1891 at the first Triennale Brera exhibition. It was awarded the “Principe Umberto” prize of 4,000 Lire and acquired by King Umberto I. (1844-1900) for the Royal Villa of Monza. The work’s importance was recognised by prominent critics during Fragiacomo’s lifetime.

Pietro Fragiacomo studied under Domenico Bresolin (1813-1900) at Venice’s Academy of Fine Arts for just one year. He befriended and painted with Giacomo Favretto (1849-1887). Both artists are Venetian painters par excellence but Fragiacomo painted en plein air by the lagoon outside Venice while Favretto painted the daily life of the city’s inhabitants.

The peacefulness and stillness of this view align with Venetian tradition. In fact, Fragiacomo focused on depicting the light and its reflection on the water. Above all, he sought to render the light and atmosphere that imbued the lagoon. Here, the sunset and its radiant light give the work a deep-seated sense of peace and harmony. A similar subject painted in 1898, evoking the same peaceful atmosphere and titled “Riposo”, was acquired by the National Gallery of Modern Art in Rome.

He was a prolific artist during his lifetime: he painted more than 500 paintings and exhibited his works in numerous cities, including at the Venice Biennale from 1895 to 1922. Unseen in public for decades, “Pace” is a rediscovered work from Fragiacomo’s best period.