'Marinai' (Sailors) by Alberto Chiancone (circa 1960s)

'Marinai' (Sailors), oil on canvas, by Alberto Chiancone (circa 1960s). A sunlit harbour scene calls attention to a group of sailors gathered at outdoor tables set against a hazy coastal backdrop of moored fishing boats, distant mountains, and figures moving along the quay. The four men are caught in a moment of easy, unhurried camaraderie that is shared by men who go to sea. A comfortable silence and shorthand familiarity comes easy to people who have shared the same work, the same sea, and the same long hours together. This is a companionship built not on words, but on time spent side by side in often arduous, seagoing conditions. In this depiction, one sailor leans back with legs stretched out, another rests his head in his hand, others are bent over the table in quiet conversation. Restful bliss.

Since most of the artist's life was spent in Naples and the South of Italy, that would suggest that this small, informal setup at the water's edge, evokes a small working fishing harbour rather than a grand port city. Perhaps this scene pictures Procida, a port in Ischia, or perhaps, smaller harbour towns along the Sorrento or Amalfi coast? The painting is in good overall condition and has been elegantly framed with a linen slip. The artist's signature is in the lower right hand. Upon request a video will be provided.

Dimensions with Frame:

H 60.6 cm / 23.9"

W 51 cm / 20.1"

Dimensions without Frame:

H 50 cm / 19.7"

W 40 cm / 15.7"

About the Artist: Alberto Chiancone (1904–1988) was a significant figure in 20th-century Neapolitan painting. Born in Tuscany to Neapolitan parents, he moved with his family back to Naples as an adolescent, where he studied at the Regio Istituto d'Arte. In his twenties, he became one of the youngest and most energetic members of the "Ostinati" group, who gathered at the Caffè Tripoli in Piazza del Plebiscito and pushed for a renewal of Neapolitan painting away from what they saw as a tired 19th-century tradition.

Chiancone exhibited extensively and prominently throughout his career, including at the Venice Biennale on numerous occasions between 1934 and 1948, the Rome Quadriennale, and the Monza Biennale. In 1937, he achieved national recognition by winning the Premio San Remo for painting. From 1932, he taught at his own alma mater, the Regio Istituto d'Arte in Naples, eventually holding the chair of Decorative Painting from 1942 until 1976, a 43-year teaching career that shaped generations of Neapolitan artists.

His work is held in numerous public collections, including the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna in Rome, the Museo Civico of Udine, the Galleria d'Arte Moderna of Latina and the Accademia di Belle Arti of Florence. Described by contemporaries as an introspective and refined painter, each of his works has been characterised as a kind of quiet, unplanned pictorial confession. That is an unguarded, almost involuntary revealing of the artist's inner emotional state through the work itself.