Large Italian genre painting of a young model by Francesco Beda

Executed in oil on canvas and set within a carved giltwood frame, this beautiful genre painting, sometimes titled 'The Little Model,' depicts an artist at work in a large, open, stately interior. It was painted by Francesco Beda (Italian 1840-1900), a leading Italian genre artist of the late nineteenth century.

A self-portrait of sorts, it shows an artist in front of an easel and canvas sketching out his subject as he directs his model, a young boy in a white tunic, who stands on a pedestal to the left of the centre. The young model stands on a rug on top of a beautiful gilt-bronze mounted table, and is accompanied by a lady, possibly his mother, while two younger women stand behind the artist and discuss his process as he works.

Beda's work, exceptional paintings in the Italian Rococo style showing a small group of beautiful aristocratic characters, often depicts artists at work in their studios, either with their models or engaged in art lessons. He was also a very fine portrait artist, as demonstrated by the sensitivity of touch and the quality of the figures in this work, and he also enjoyed painting Orientalist works.

This piece is signed to the lower right 'F. Beda', and inscribed on the reverse of the canvas lower right 'A. d. Nachlass v. F. Beda' (From the Estate of F. Beda).

Frame: height 111cm, width 168cm, depth 7cm
Canvas: height 96cm, width 153cm, depth 3cm