'The Guitarist' by Carlo Striccoli (circa 1960s)

Oil on canvas, a pensive interior portrait (circa 1960s) by Carlo Striccoli depicting a woman standing beside her guitar propped on the floor, her hand resting lightly on its neck. Dressed in a pale blue blouse and full black skirt, she meets someone's gaze with a quiet, unguarded directness, caught in a moment of stillness rather than performance. The loosely rendered studio interior behind her, glimpsed in soft hues, reinforces the sense of an intimate, unposed moment rather than a formal portrait sitting. Striccoli's choice for this artwork using loose, urgent brushwork is evident throughout, particularly in the rich, textured handling of the guitar itself and the confident, economical strokes describing the figure's feet and skirt. Take note that passages of the bare canvas are left visible throughout, most strikingly at the transition between the blouse and the figure's neck, along with many other smaller areas. In this case, the artist deliberately lets the canvas (or its preparatory tone) show through unpainted or thinly painted, using it as a compositional element rather than covering every inch with pigment. It's a technique closely associated with alla prima (direct, wet-on-wet) and Expressionist painting, where speed and immediacy matter more than complete coverage, and it often serves to unify tonal transitions or suggest light and shadow without needing to fully render them. This is a deliberate compositional choice rather than an unfinished area, characteristic of the immediacy and directness of his mature Expressionist technique. The artist signed the work in the lower right hand. The painting is in good overall condition and has been elegantly framed with a linen slip. Please enjoy the many photos accompanying the listing. Upon request a video will be provided. 

Dimensions with frame:

H 61 cm / 24"

W 51 cm / 20.1"

Dimensions without frame:

H 49 cm / 19.3"

W 39 cm / 15.4"

About the Artist: Carlo Striccoli (1897-1980) was a significant Italian painter of the 20th century, and one of the principal figures of the Neapolitan Novecento movement. The son of the architect who designed Altamura's Teatro Mercadante, Striccoli was raised in a cultured household and showed early talent as both a poet and a violinist, performing at his father's theatre as a teenager. In 1914, he moved to Naples to study at the Accademia di Belle Arti, and graduated with distinction in painting in 1925–26. He exhibited widely and prominently throughout his career, including at the Venice Biennale (which dedicated a solo exhibition to him in 1940), the Rome Quadriennale, and the 1937 Exposition Internationale des Arts et des Techniques in Paris, where he won a gold medal. His style evolved continuously over his career, moving from academic training into Expressionism, and edging toward Informalism in his final works. His paintings are held in major public collections, including the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna, the Quadreria del Quirinale, and the Intesa Sanpaolo collection. He died in Arezzo in 1980.