Alexandre CASATI (1806-1846) - Lot 76

Alexandre CASATI (1806-1846) Palermo, the Feast of Saint Rosalie, 1843 Oil on canvas, signed and dated lower left. H. 103 cm - L. 170 cm HVS Small dents, cracks. Large gilded stucco and wood frame, openwork with rocaille and shell decoration. Provenance : Scheidecker family at Château de Lutzelhouse (Bas-Rhin) since the second half of the 19th century, then by descent. Exhibition: Paris, Salon de 1844, N°279. In the evening of his life, Alexandre Casati reconnected with his origins by exhibiting three Italian subjects for the last time at the 1844 Salon: "La fête de sainte Rosalie, à Palerme" (N°279), "Naples, la fête de Piedigrotta" (N°280) and "Vue prise à Ischia" (N°281). This son of a Milanese merchant, born in Milan but of French nationality, was a pupil of Charles Nicolas Lafond (1773-1835) and above all of Eugène Lepoittevin (1806-1870). It was with the latter that he perfected his taste for outdoor scenes and seascapes, with a particular focus on Normandy landscapes. It was with Normandy as his subject that he first exhibited at the Salon in 1831. "Certainly, M. Alexandre Casati has a very strong weakness for representing festivals. Italy and Sicily, whose inhabitants are cheerful and laughing, have inspired him. "La fête de sainte Rosalie", in Palermo; "La fête de Piedigrotta", in Naples, are two very pleasant canvases, where movement is not lacking, yet the painter has avoided confusion of characters. The color of these two paintings is pleasing; his "Vue prise à Ischia" (Kingdom of Naples), has undoubted grandeur. However, M. Alexandre Casati seems to us to be more successful in popular scenes, because he possesses, above all, the picturesqueness of groups." in "Album du Salon de 1844", Paris, Challamel éditeur 1844, p. 32.