'The Apple Sellers' by Antonio Bresciani (circa 1930s-40s)

'I Venditori di Mele' (The Apple Sellers), oil on board, by Antonio Bresciani (circa 1930s-40s). A quietly compelling study depicting two barefoot boys set against a plain, shadowed interior. One is seated with a woven basket of apples resting across his lap, his direct, unguarded yet hopeful gaze meeting the viewer's (you might want to buy an apple or two), while a second boy behind him bites into an apple. There is little sentimentality here. Rather, it is an honest, unvarnished record of working childhood in early 20th-century Naples: bare feet, worn clothing and seated on simple wooden chairs. The artist's loose brushwork and muted palette lend the scene an immediacy that sits within the broader Italian social-realist tradition of the interwar years, when painters increasingly turned their attention to ordinary, working-class subjects rather than idealised or academic themes. The artwork is signed in the lower left hand. It is in good overall condition seemingly with a recent restoration although that cannot be verified. The artwork is newly framed with a linen slip. The circled area in the photos may be a small area of paint loss or, in our opinion, is more likely a highlight or fold-shadow transition within the leg. Please enjoy the many photos accompanying this listing. Upon request a video will be provided.

Dimensions with Frame:

H 60.2 cm / 23.7"

W 44.2 cm / 17.4"

Dimensions without Frame:

H 48.1 cm / 18.9"

W 32.3 cm / 12.7"

About the Artist: Antonio Bresciani (Naples, 1902–1998) was one of the most important Neapolitan painters of the 20th century. The son of a decorator, he studied under Vincenzo Volpe at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Naples, graduating in 1925, having already won a prize at the Leonardo da Vinci Art School in New York in 1924 for his painting "The Emigrant." In 1928 he joined the bohemian circle of artists at Naples's Quartiere Latino. He exhibited at the Venice Biennale from 1930 onward and participated in the first four editions of the Rome Quadriennale, among many other major national exhibitions. From 1942, he held the chair of the free school of nude drawing at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Naples. Bresciani's work has been compared to that of Spadini and Degas. He continued to work in his native Naples into his nineties.