Pietro Della Valle (Livorno, 1819 – Florence, 1880), Landscape with shepherdesses and fisherman, 1846

Pietro Della Valle (Livorno, 1819 – Florence, 1880)

Landscape with Shepherdesses and Fisherman, 1846

Oil on canvas, 34 x 50 cm

With frame, 64 x 69 cm

Pietro Della Valle (Livorno 1819 – Florence 1880) was a painter, decorator, landscape artist and master painter. Brother of the architect Angiolo and the painter Giuseppe, he comes from a famous family of artists from Livorno: the Della Valle family were known, between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, not only in Italy but also internationally for their extraordinary artistic qualities, as demonstrated by the various commissions that members of the family received from the sovereigns of Russia, Denmark and Prussia. Pietro della Valle is not only known for his paintings but also for his elegant compositions in scagliola, particularly appreciated by travellers on the Grand Tour.

Among the most successful objects of Della Valle's scagliola production is certainly the table with stories of the public life of Columbus, exhibited in Florence in 1860. As for his pictorial production, the artist preferred landscape scenes, often animated by the presence of small figures at work. The characters in the works of the artist from Livorno move in the beautiful landscapes of the Tuscan countryside, illuminated by a warm and reassuring light. Among the most famous works of the painter we remember The shipwreck of a brigantine on the coast of La Spezia, which was a great success with the public and critics at the Florence Exhibition of 1844, the large Marina presented at the New York Exhibition of 1876 and The Fortress of Montepulciano, a painting of happy naturalistic taste and sensitivity to light, dated 1866 and preserved in the Hall of Modern Art of the Palazzo Comunale of the city.

The painting in question depicts a beautiful glimpse of the Tuscan countryside. In this valley crossed by a placidly flowing river, two young women and a little girl in traditional dress are relaxing in the shade of the trees surrounded by some of their flock. Meanwhile, a fisherman is hoisting his net with great effort. The warm and lively light of day illuminates the scene, making it particularly lively.

In its tones and pictorial technique, Della Valle's work follows the tradition of Florentine landscape painters of the first half of the nineteenth century, first and foremost Giovanni Signorini.