(Milan 1851–1953 On the Beach at Alassio, circa 1918, signed E. Gola, several exhibition labels on the reverse, oil on canvas, 80 x 130 cm, framed, labels on the reverse (Biennale of Venice 1920(?), Collection Gussoni). (W)

Provenance: Private Milanese collection, formerly Malabarba Collection. Literature: Anna Caterina Bellati, Emilio Gola, L’uomo de l’opera Prefazione di Fernando Mazzocca, Edizioni Bolis, 1994, no. 30 (with slightly different measurements); Emilio Conte Gola: The artist lived in Milan where he painted landscapes and portraits and drew in pastels. He was a pupil of Seb. de Alberti at the academy in Brera. He exhibited in Turin from 1880 onwards, in Milan from 1881, in Rome from 1883, in Venice from 1887 and repeatedly at the Munich Glass Palace and Munich Secession from 1888 onwards. His female portraits, painted in the soft and loose style and deep tones of Cremona, were immediately popular amongst his public. Gola usually selected simple scenes for his impressionist landscapes which became ever richer in colour and continually lighter over the years. He was particularly fond of picturesque canal perspectives, extending into the painting, such as those seen in old Milan and surroundings. The decorative figures which, well observed and naturally portrayed, cleverly fit in the milieu, assumed quite an important role in his landscapes. Gola’s works are currently hung in Venice, The Hague, Pittsburgh and the Uffizi.