Pair of Italian genre paintings by Bragolin

The paintings in this pair are by the Italian artist Giovanni Bragolin, whose real name was Bruno Amadio. The paintings are true genre works: depictions of everyday life, even those aspects of everyday reality that are sombre and melancholy. The paintings portray two young peasant boys, both of whom live in evident poverty. The boys cry, their wet eyes issuing tears that trip down their saddened, dirtied faces. The painterly manner is fluid and accomplished, and the colour palette is dark and foreboding—a fact that further emphasises the sombre character of the paintings. The works can be viewed as 20^th century successors to the tradition established by artists like Luke Fildes, who portrayed the poverty of 19^th century urban England in an immediate and unadulterated manner.

The paintings are contained within giltwood frames. Each is signed 'G Bragolin', one to the upper left and the other to the upper right.

Frame: Height 85cm, width 65cm, depth 5cm
Canvas: Height 70cm, width 50cm, depth 1cm