'Portrait of Young Boy' by Luigi Corbellini (circa 1930s)

'Portrait of Boy' by Luigi Corbellini (circa 1930s). The artist painted this endearing young boy whose name remains unknown. Perhaps the slightly timid expression on his face ensues from his curiosity as to why his day is spent sitting still for this portrait. Corbellini is renown for his portraits of children particularly of well-to-do families but no information is available about this boy. The sympathetic treatment of the subject conveys, in all probability, a connection with the artist. In good overall condition in its original, antique frame showing characterful fading, small cracks and otherwise exquisite detail. Signed: 'Corbellini' in the lower left hand. A video of the piece may be provided upon request. 

About the Artist: Luigi Corbellini (1901-1968) was born in in Piacenza, Italy and led an extraordinary life. He studied at the Brera Academy of Fine Artist in Milan and then at the Accademia Albertina in Turin. At 19, Corbellini won an international painting contest held in Bruges, Belgium; while there he studied with Flemish masters, Van Biesbrouck and Van Acker. After three years in that country he moved to Montmartre in Paris where he worked in the famous Bateau-Lavoir studios alongside Picasso and others. In 1924 while painting by the seaside in Deauville, Corbellini was approached by a man asking about having a portrait painted of his daughter. That man was Robert de Rothschild and this chance encounter would prove to be an extraordinary opportunity which changed the course of his career. The child's portrait met with such success that Corbellini was asked to paint the spouses and children of many well known families with names like Guerlin, Vanderbilt and Rockefeller. In recognition of his talent, Boni de Castellane asked him to paint an entire stable of horses, thus propelling him to fame in the equestrian world as well. His success was such that he was able to buy an entire building in Paris's tony 15th arrondissement where he created artists' workshops for himself and others whom he invited to work. 

As Corbellini's star was rising internationally, he was commissioned to paint the young princes of Sweden as well as those of other prominent Swedish families. When the second World War broke, Corbellini painted a series (which he called 'Without Family') of children and mothers carrying bundles as they fled the horrors of the fighting. This was accomplished in the style of the Flemish masters.

After WWII, Corbellini traveled the world to paint what he saw. He was fascinated with New York and painted and exhibited there as well as in Los Angeles and San Francisco. His world travels took him afar to Hawaii, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Japan, Tahiti, Fiji, Noumea, Brazil (where he painted 17 landscapes and portraits), Venezuela, Switzerland, Spain and as far north as the Laplands. 

Corbellini died unexpectedly in New York in 1968 while preparing an exhibition which was to have taken place in 1969. Since his death, he has been the subject of numerous posthumous exhibits, newspaper and magazine articles, books and scholarly papers. Knowing that New York had a special place in Corbellini's heart, as a tribute to the victims of September 11, 2001, his son offered a painting of New York as seen from the boat that brought the artist to this city in 1947 to the Italian newspaper, La Liberta. 

Corbellini's works are currently held in private collections internationally and in museums such as le Musée National d'Art Moderne in the Pompidou Centre in Paris, the Musée du Jeu du Paume, also in Paris, the Musèe de Grenoble and the Art Museum of Evanston, Illinois, in the United States, and the Art Museum in Piacenza, Italy, his home town, among others. 

Dimensions with frame:

H 37 cm / 14.6"

W 29 cm / 11.4"

Dimensions without frame:

H 20.5 cm / 8.1"

W 13 cm / 5.1