Oil

Original oil on wood panel by Italian painter Laurenzio Laurenzi (1878-1946). The painting is titled "Fatma" or "Fatima" and depicts the trim figure of a Somali, Eritrean or Ethiopian woman. It measures 23 5/8 x 15 3/4 inches and is signed, titled and dated 1930 by the artist. Small dot of wall paint on her elbow, otherwise excellent condition. Laurenzio Laurenzi (1878-1946) was an Italian painter and printmaker. Born in Assisi, he studied at the Institute of Fine Arts in Rome and trained himself by observing the paintings of the fourteenth-century masters. He joined the XXV of the Roman Campagna and participated in exhibitions of the Roman Secession. He was also a member of the Academy of Perugia and of the Academy of Virtuosi at the Pantheon. Laurenzi lived in Rome, but traveled often and made etchings with views of Venice, Brindisi, Amalfi, and Palermo. He also went to Paris, Sofia and London, in his travels he tried to absorb different techniques and styles: divisionism, syncretism, impressionism. During the Fascist period, he was officially commissioned to create a series of etchings that reproduced monuments from the Imperial age of Rome. To carry out this project Laurenzi traveled for three years, visiting Greece, Turkey, Tunisia, Libya and various Italian cities. After his travels to Eritrea and Somalia, the Italian Ministry of the Colonies hosted an exhibition of his work executed in these Italian African colonial territories.