(Arco 1858 – 1899 Schafberg near Pontresina)
Roses and Spring Flowers, inscribed GSegantini by another hand, oil on panel, 54 x 38.5 cm, framed

Provenance:
Private Collection, Italy.

We are grateful to Prof. Dr. Annie-Paul Quinsac for kindly confirming the authenticity on the basis of the original.

A certificate issued by Prof. Dr. Annie-Paul Quinsac, 28 February 2022, is available.

This kind of painting, which is often misidentified as a “still life”, belongs to a series of decorative pieces for furniture, cabinet doors and even parts of boiserie. These decorative panels were commissioned to the young Giovanni Segantini by Mentasti, the best-known cabinet maker in Milan under whom the future greatest designer of the Belle Epoque, Carlo Bugatti (1856-1940) apprenticed. The two artists completed their studies at the Brera Academy when Bugatti introduced Segantini to Mentasti. Through this working relationship, Segantini met Bice, Carlo’s sister, who became his model and muse (La falconiera, la pescivendola). Segantini and Bice later started a new life together in the Brianza region, becoming the mother of his four children and his lifelong companion.

The present painting is both refined in its nuanced use of white and pale tones and vivid in its portrayal of the lower composition. The structuring brushwork is the artist’s trademark: in the absence of the painting’s history, the stylistic data confirm the authenticity of the work.

Prof. Dott. Annie-Paul Quinsac