Pietro Della Valle (1827-1891)

"La Meranda a Tramonto"

Oil on canvas, signed and dated 1857

103 x 153 cm.

As a landscape and genre painter, Valle captured the romantic and lively spirit of his native country. He was born in Vercelli and begun his artistic training under Fernando di Rossaro at the Accademia Albertina in Turin. He then completed his studies at the Accademia di Brera, Milan in 1849. His early career was constrained by lack of money so for the next five years he worked in a printing firm hut continued to paint watercolours in his spare time. He was greatly encouraged when he achieved commercial success for his exhibited work at the Accademia di Brera.

This prompted rum to resume a full time career as an artist, which he began by touring his home country and recording some of its most picturesque views. His work of the late 1850's onward is some of his finest. He exhibited a number of oil paintings both at ho me and abroad, which from their tides such as "Fishermen in the Bay of Naples" and "Coastal landscape with dancing figure"are very similar to this wonderful scene of fisher folk beside the sea.