VINCENZO IROLLI Naples, 1860 - 1942 Outdoor lesson Signed V Irolli bottom right Oil on canvas, 49X64 cm Provenance: Italy, private collection Although the artist was inspired by the painting of Morelli and Michetti, especially from an iconographic point of view, he distinguished himself for his fast and vibrant brushstrokes and for his palette rich in chromatic accents. He produced works of great value: portraits of commoners, charming girls and beautiful children. Irolli used a very immediate colouring technique, painting scenes of everyday life, such as in our painting where a group of children attend a teacher's lesson on the first day of school. In the painting, an unmistakable narrative quality is evident, impressive and pervaded by light, but above all Irolli's special sensitivity in depicting childhood and maternal love. Admired abroad by public and critics alike as a 'Painter of the Sun' with a deft touch and bright, luminous colours. A pupil of Gioacchino Toma and Vincenzo Maldarelli at the Institute of Fine Arts in Naples, from 1883 Irolli exhibited at major national and international exhibitions, sent works to Berlin, Milan, Rome and Barcelona, and conquered the Parisian market with his participation in the Salon in 1905 and 1907 and the Salon d'Automne in 1909. Reference bibliography: E. Giannelli, Artisti napoletani viventi, Naples 1916, ad vocem G. Nicodemi, M. Bezzola, La Galleria d'Arte Moderna di Milano, Milan 1935, ad vocem U. Galletti, E. Camesasca, Enciclopedia della Pittura Italiana, Milan 1950, ad vocem A.M. Comanducci, Dizionario illustrato dei pittori e incisori italiani moderni, Milan 1962, ad vocem AA.VV., Dizionario Enciclopedico Bolaffi dei pittori e degli incisori italiani dal XIX al XX secolo, Turin 1972, ad vocem AA.VV., La Pittura in Italia; L'ottocento, Milan 1991, ad vocem