Alfredo Protti - Study Of Cats

oil on panel, 44 x 55 cm
Signed lower left: 'A. Protti'

Fast, indefinite brushstrokes and strong, bold colour contrasts inscribe the painting of Alfredo Protti (Bologna 1882 -1949) in the Secessionist milieu. The choice of subjects also follows that taste, sensual and provocative women are the painter's favourite protagonists: femmes fatales completely at ease with their bodies and their sensuality.  
With the spread of the Return to Order, but above all the fascist influence, Alfredo Protti increasingly distanced himself from the artistic environment, tending to isolate himself in quiet solitude. The last collective he took part in was the Fascist Trade Union in Florence in 1933 with Sonnellino and Intimità. Alfredo Protti then retired to his home, to his private domestic dimension, continuing to paint portraits, intimate interiors, landscapes, but above all his beloved cats.