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FEDERICO ZANDOMENEGHI , VENICE, 1841 - PARIS, 1917 Alentours de Paris Oil on canvas 61 x 50.5 cm Emerging from the gloom of the trees, three figures, a woman and two young children, advance to meet us. From the woman's long white apron, we can guess that she is a nurse walking her little masters, the eldest of whom seems to be leading the way with a determined air, while the second remains nestled in the arms of his governess. They walk peacefully along a path bordering a river whose meanders can be seen in the background. On the other side of the river, a dilapidated building looks like a ruin, giving a rustic aspect to the scene. Unusual for a landscape, the vertical format brings a certain dynamism that accompanies the emergence of the walkers. The countryside evoked is the green one of a sunny summer afternoon, when one seeks the coolness of the shadows. The brushstrokes are clear and precise, to draw the silhouettes of the characters, but they become freer, proceeding by tasks, when it is a question of rendering the vivacity of nature. Tufts of grass, foliage or reflections in the water are drawn with a looser, fuid brush. The colour palette is intended to be realistic, modulating the tones according to their degree of exposure to the often subdued light. Picturesque, between realism and impressionism, Zandomeneghi's style assumes its singularity. Federigo Zandomeneghi (1841-1917) was an Italian painter. He was born and raised in Venice in a family of artists and trained at the Academy of Venice from 1856. In 1860, as a supporter of Garibaldi, he stayed in Florence where he frequented the Macchiaioli group (tachists) who had a lasting influence on his style. With them, he devoted himself to landscape painting on the ground, 'en plein air'. This innovative approach, which gave their compositions a realistic rendering, found its equivalent, at the same time, in France, with the painters of the Barbizon school. In 1874, Zandomeneghi went to Paris where he decided to settle. He spent the rest of his life there. His second decisive encounter was with the Impressionists who had just held their first exhibition. Zandomeneghi participated in four of their exhibitions (1879, 1880, 1881 and 1886). At first he had to make illustrations for fashion magazines to earn a living, but his meeting in 1878 with the art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel, who bought him the exclusive rights to his works, gave him economic independence. At the beginning of the 1890s, he found a new impetus in the pastel technique, producing numerous portraits. His paintings were sold as far away as the United States, bringing him fame and financial ease. Provenance: E. Gagliardin, Milan, Private collection, Vimercate, Then by descent to the present owner Private collection, Italy Mario Borgiotti, Incantesimi dell'Ottocento pittorico italiano, Milan, 1967; Enrico Piceni, Zandomeneghi, edition Bramante, Milan, 1967, no. 29. Signatur: Signed and dated lower left 'Zandomeneghi (18)78'