FRANCESCO LOJACONO Palermo, 1838 - 1915 The dusty road Signed F Lojacono bottom right Oil on canvas, 84.5X150 cm Provenance: Milan, private collection The large canvas in the catalogue depicts a typical Sicilian cart loaded with vegetables, pulled by a tired donkey. The street of the seaside village of Romagnolo appears sunny and dusty, while in the distance the Palermo coastline forms the background. On the right, a large tree with wide foliage casts its shadow on the parched ground. The sky is a soft blue, with a few grey clouds fading on the horizon, while the sun, although not visible, illuminates the landscape with a warm, dazzling light. Considered the leading landscape painter of 19th century Sicily, Francesco Lojacono was nicknamed Ladro del sole (Thief of the Sun) for his extraordinary ability to convey luminosity in his works, which above all express his deep love for his land. A pupil of Palizzi, he worked in both Naples and Palermo, also achieving international success. In 1870 he exhibited his work La valle dell'Oreto first in Vienna and then in Paris, and in 1878 he took part in the International Exhibition in Paris. In 1872, he took up the chair of Landscape at the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples, where his students included the Palermo-born Ettore De Maria Bergler. He was also among the first artists of his time to use photography as a medium for his works. Among his major works are L'arrivo inatteso (1883), Dopo la pioggia (1886) and L'estate (1891), the latter purchased by King Umberto. Most of his canvases are exhibited in the Museo Civico in Agrigento (Sinatra collection) and in the Galleria d'Arte Moderna in Palermo, but his works can also be found in the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna in Rome and other Italian picture galleries. Reference bibliography: G. Barbera, Francesco Lojacono 1838 - 1915, Milan, 2005 ad vocem