(Reggio d’Emilia 1838–1920)
“Una partita a Briscola - nell’imbarazzo”, oil on canvas, 45 x 60 cm, framed

Provenance:
Galerie Heinemann, Munich, 1897-1910 (Heinemann No. 3756);
Acquired by Erich Wasserschleben (1845-1921), Gießen, Hessen, August 1910;
Private Collection, Germany.

Exhibited:
Internationale Kunstausstellung Glaspalast, Munich, 1897, no. 268 “Wie wird das enden”.

Catalogued and illustrated in:
Gaetano Chierici, Pittore (1838–1920), catalogo della mostra (Reggio Emilia, Pinacde 20 December 1938), pl. XXIV;
G. Morselli, La pittura di Gaetano Chierici 1839–1920, Reggio Emilia, edito a cura dell’ufficio pubbliche relazioni Lombardini Motori, 1964;
E. Monducci, A. Baboni, Gaetano Chierici 1838–1920. Mostra Antologica, catalogo della mostra (Reggio Emilia Palazzo Magnani, 15 February-
31 March 1986), Reggio Emilia, Tipolitografia Emiliana, p. 242, no. 211.

Compare:
Giovanni Morselli, La Pittura di Gaetano Chierici 1838–1920, Emiliana 1964,
no. 726.

A Certificate issued by Archivio Baboni, February 2023, is available upon request.

Gaetano Chierici (1838-1920) was an Italian artist known for his genre paintings of peasant interiors. Chierici received an extensive academic education, attending the Reggio Emilia School of Fine Arts, and later joining the academies of Modena and Florence before finally completing his training in Bologna under fellow artist Giulio Cesare Ferrari. While initially influenced by the Neo-Classical style of his uncle, Alfonso Chierici, Gaetano rather shifted towards light-hearted genre scenes. Later, Chierici became the director of the Workers School of Drawing in Reggio Emilia and mayor of the city from 1900 to 1902.

With a bright colour palette, Chierici’s works are full of life. He painted scenes of everyday life often with a joyful and playful tone, emphasizing the beauty of ordinary moments. This work makes no exception. Here, the figures have sculptural weight and three dimensionality, almost allowing the viewer to be included in the scene. The children have realistic and gentle facial expressions and body language, and their laughter is almost audible through the paint. Chierici paints a comical narrative, creating the impression that the children are about to do silly and humorous things, which furthers the photographic quality to the painting.