Ugo Catti (Palermo nel primo ‘900) - Veduta del Golfo di Palermo con Monte Pellegrino

UGO CATTI
(active in Palermo in the early 1900s)
View of the Gulf of Palermo with Monte Pellegrino
Oil on panel, cm. 35 x 60
Signed 'U CATTI' bottom right
Frame size, cm. 46 x 72 x 4 approx.


NOTE: Intermidiart catalogue publication. Signed lower right. Work from a Sicilian collection. Certificate of Lawful Provenance. Work with gilded frame (defects):

This clear seascape – from an important Sicilian collection and – with Mount Pellegrino as a backdrop, undoubtedly belongs to the talented Sicilian painter Ugo Catti (active in Palermo in the early 1900s), son of the great Michele Catti (Palermo, 1855 – 1914), a figure who, together with Francesco Lojacono and Antonino Leto – a well-known trio of the greatest Sicilian landscape painters of the 19th century – contributed to creating that magical, happy cultural moment on our island between the 19th and 20th centuries.
Born in Palermo and son of the painter Michele Catti and the Palermo noblewoman Anna Contarino, Ugo, together with his brother Aurelio, followed in his father's footsteps, despite the scant information available on the artist's life and works.
He takes up his father's production, influenced by Leto's painting. He has a palette based on grays and cold colors. His paintings - like his brother Aurelio - mostly depict urban spaces marked by rain and crossed by people in rapid movement, and seascapes, as in our case.
The work in question is characterized by a full-bodied and pasty painting, made by “spots”, capable of capturing the beauty and landscape contradictions of the southern land with a lyrical vision. The representation of the rough sea, of Mount Pellegrino, the boats in the sea, and the exaltation of light and color, are distinctive elements of this work.
In the wide-ranging view, the outline of the mountain struck by the morning sun's rays appears illuminated by a pink light that detaches it from the background of a blue sky crossed by clouds that signal the enchantment of a beautiful day. At the same time, the gradations of the color of the sea, in the foreground, change from an intense blue in the farthest stretch to lighter shades as one approaches the shore, and light up with whitish reflections where the sun reverberates on the sea. This is certainly a work worthy of the lesson of his father Michele and the great master Francesco Lojacono, probably executed around the first half of the 20th century, where the artist totally adheres to the naturalism of the master, tracing his schemes and lighting effects, and like other Sicilian students, he takes up themes already addressed by them (Bruno, Tre Generazioni di Pittori, I Mirabella una famiglia di pittori a Palermo, Elledizioni 2001, (pp. 21-37). The canvas, in fact, roughly takes up the framing adopted by his father and Francesco Lojacono in the works of the same subject.
The work of excellent artistic and chromatic quality is in good condition with signs of aging visible in the photos. Signed lower right, the painting shows traces of dirt caused by time, signs that testify to the years of the work. The painting, of good pictorial quality, is embellished with a golden frame (frame size, cm. 46 x 72 x 4 approx., presence of defects). "The frame shown in the photos above has been added to the artwork by the seller or a third party. The frame is provided to you at no additional cost so that it is ready to display as soon as it arrives. The frame is included as a courtesy and is not considered an integral part of the artwork. Therefore, any potential damage to the frame that does not affect the artwork itself will not be accepted as a valid reason to open a complaint or request cancellation of the order."

PROVENANCE: Sicilian Private Collection

PUBLICATION:
Unpublished;
 MYTHS AND TERRITORY in Sicily with a thousand cultures. INEDITA QUADRERIA general catalogue of the paintings in the collection of the cycle “Myths and the territory”, Editore Lab_04, Marsala, 2024.

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