Federico Zandomeneghi (Italian, 1841–1917)

When Federico Zandomeneghi arrived in Paris in 1874, the Venetian painter was already a fully formed artist with a noted ability for figure painting, established during the period he spent working with the exponents of Florentine realism, the Macchiaioli.
Zandomeneghi's oeuvre after his move to Paris was informed in part by the influence of his close peers, Edgar Degas and Paul Renoir, and in part by the dictates of his dealer, the leading Impressionist gallerist, Paul Durand-Ruel, to whom he had been introduced by Degas.
Exhorted by critics such as Emile Duranty to find his subject-matter in Parisian modern life, and invited by Edgar Degas to participate in the fourth Impressionist exhibition of 1879, Zandomeneghi's style evolved into one which adhered to Impressionist principles, while maintaining a significant narrative element.
Zandomeneghi's principal medium was pastel, a technique also favoured by Degas, but characterised by more intense colours, applied with a denser, almost painterly technique. The resulting works have a concentrated intensity, which seemed to exaggerate the intimacy of the interiors that formed the core of his subject matter.
Formerly in the famed collection of Angelo Sommaruga, the present lot portrays a lady against a background of vibrant pinks and blues. The emphasis is not so much on the figure's feminine beauty, but on her serene expression, which is set into stark relief by the coloured background.