Ottone Rosai ^©  

(Firenze, 1895 - Ivrea, 1957)

Signed lower right. On the back: in pastel and pencil: title; in pencil "Lizza"; label Arte Contemporanea, Florence, with n. 124; stamp Galleria del Grattacielo, Legnano; stamp Leoncini. Provenance: Arte Contemporanea, Florence.
Exhibitions: 2020, Ottone Rosai painting territory of revolt, curated by Luigi Cavallo, in collaboration with Oretta Nicolini, Casa del Mantegna, Mantua (reprinted in cat., no. 61).
Bibliography: 2018, Luigi Cavallo, Ottone Rosai in a Florentine collection, autobiographical note by B. Morandi, collaboration by O. Nicolini and A. Alibrandi, Gli Ori, Pistoia, n. 17.

"The deleted writing on the back 'Lizza' is a title pertinent to the image; in the quarries of the Apuan Alps the lizza was the steep descent that the workers used to lower the blocks of marble harnessed to the sleds into the valley; and it is to that type of wounded landscape that the painter had evidently paid attention. It is also true that the modification of the title 'Il Ghiaione' written in pastel and pencil, appears to us to be Rosai's own hand; the title is also reported on the Contemporary Art label that was placed on the works handled by Enrico Vallecchi, as well as publisher, in the 1950s a merchant, especially Ardengo Soffici and Ottone Rosai. Another version of this subject can be recognized, La Lizza (Le Apuane), c. 1951, same material and size, formerly Eredi Rosai, Florence."
Louis Horse.