Attilio Pratella Fishing Off Naples

A classic small oil on panel by this prolific late 19thC and early 20thC artist who seemed to be obsessed by one theme and one theme alone, Naples and its environs at various times of the year. His favourite subjects were the city’s markets and animated waterfronts, along with the neighbouring hills of Vomero, the island of Capri and the coastline of Sorrento. This painting shows a number of fishermen fishing off the Bay of Naples.

Attilio Pratella was born in Lugo, Italy in 1856, and died in Naples in 1949. Pratella began drawing in 1877, was admitted to the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna through a scholarship and was inspired by the works of Fontanesi. In 1880 he attended the Fine Arts Institute in Naples, during which time he earned livelihood as a ceramics decorator in the Cacciapuoti factory but he continued to paint his beloved Naples. . As he matured his landscape paintings were exhibited in the Venice Biennale and in the Paris Salon where he achieved critical acclaim.  Pratella became a landscape painter much sought after.  Especially admired in the nineteenth century are views like this painting of the Bay of Naples.

Dimensions: 16″ (42 cm) W x 12″ (30 cm) H