(Alessandria 1785–1837 Milan)
A Procession Interrupted by a Storm, verso titled and inscribed, with exhibition label of Mostra Nazionale del Pittore Giovanni Migliara May 1937 and note of ownership, oil on canvas, 45.5 x 60.5 cm, framed

Provenance:
Giuseppe Ariotti, Vercelli;
Private Collection, Italy, for two generations.

Exhibited:
Alessandria, Mostra Nazionale del Pittore Giovanni Migliara, May 1937.

Catalogued in:
Arturo Mensi, Giovanni Migliara (1785–1837), Istituto Italiano d’Arti Grafiche Ed., Bergamo, 1937, p. 104, no. 1144

Another version of the present lot is catalogued in Arturo Mensi’s book, Giovanni Migliara, 1937, no. 962 as “Processione interrotta dal temporale”, which is in a private collection in Novara. The measurements of the two paintings are the same with a few minor variations. The present picture shows a dramatic storm brewing in the distance. The viewer is shown the last glimpse of peaceful sky before the storm blows in. The procession with the priest in the foreground is already struggling against the wind. Migliara was interested in the atmospheric effects of light. In this case it shows man’s powerlessness against the forces of nature, a central theme for Romantic artists.