Mariano de Franceschi

MARIANO DE FRANCESCHI (Rome, 1849-1896).
"The collector", 1881.
Watercolor on paper.
Slight damage to the frame, c. 1850.
Signed, dated and located (Rome).
Measurements: 43 x 33 cm; 57 x 48 cm (frame).
Pictorialist scene that presents a man dressed in a wig sitting in an armchair. Both the clothes and the style of the room show us the historicist interest of the artist. In the manner of a still life, numerous objects inhabit the room apparently in a random way, although they are part of a balanced composition and pressed in such a way that none stands out over the other, forming part of a set where a tapestry coexists with books, maps, furniture, etc.
Mariano de Franceschi studied at the Academia di San Luca in Rome and later became a student of the Spanish painter Baldomero Galofre. He made his debut in Rome in 1876 at the annual exhibition "Amatori e Cultori" with a still life, later devoting himself to landscape and genre painting. Throughout his career he exhibited his work on numerous occasions, including the national exhibition in Turin in 1884; Capri, Rome, in 1888 and Venice, among many other cities.