Dimensions: height 545 mm, width 370 mm
Copyright: Rijks Museum: Open Domain
Angelo Rossi created this watercolor, Straw Hat with Roses, Carnations, and Cornflowers, during the 19th century. Immediately, the eye is drawn to the hat’s circular form, softened by the cascading arrangement of flowers. The textures, rendered delicately in watercolor, evoke a sense of gentle elegance and a dreamlike quality. Rossi's choice of subject and medium invites us to consider the structural dynamics at play. The hat, an object typically associated with utility and fashion, is transformed here into a study of form and color. The flowers, arranged seemingly at random, are in fact carefully composed to create a sense of depth and movement around the central void of the hat. The circular shape of the hat contrasts with the organic forms of the flowers, a tension that destabilizes any fixed interpretation. The painting does not merely represent; it engages in a semiotic interplay between object and adornment, utility and beauty. This interplay challenges our perception of everyday objects, inviting us to see them anew.
Comments
In the second half of the 19th century, Italian artists developed an exceptionally skilful manner of watercolour painting, a striking example of which is this remarkable still life by the flower and decorative painter Angelo Rossi. At that time, most Italian artists favoured genre scenes from the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) and countries such as Egypt. Their watercolours soon found their way to the Netherlands through the international art trade.
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