Quiet Street Antiques of Bath has dated this Fortunino Matania Monochrome Watercolour to the Edwardian era.
Signed, lower left-hand corner. 19 x 24ins (48 x 61cms) including the original ebonised and gilded frame.
FORTUNINO MATANIA (1881-1963) was a talented Italian artist, born in Naples, who designed his first work (an advertisement for soap) at just 9 years of age and exhibited at the Naples Academy two years later. At the outbreak of the First World War he became famous for his graphic depictions of life in the trenches, but it was when that war was over that he cemented his career as a most heralded, and now highly-collected artist.
He filled his London studio with reproductions of Roman furniture and studied the history books for suitably lively subjects, which together with the help of models and statues, enabled him to produce wonderful watercolours to great acclaim. He exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy and even worked with Cecil B DeMille to provide sets and promotional material for the film “The Ten Commandments”. He was awarded many honours, the most notable being made a Chevalier (Knight) of the Order of the Crown of Italy in 1918. Today his work is highly and avidly collected.
NB.*** Please note that this good watercolour is not on view in the shop; for further details telephone 07860 818212 or e-mail in the normal way.
Quiet Street Antiques of Bath has dated this Fortunino Matania Monochrome Watercolour to the Edwardian era.
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AMUSING WATERCOLOUR BY FORTUNINO MATANIA
