Giovanni Rota (1832-1900) was an accomplished Italian painter predominantly known for lighthearted portraits and figures.

Born in Trieste, Rota trained initially under Augusto Tominz (1818-1883) before enrolling at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia. Immersing himself in the sumptuous works of the Venetian masters, he toiled feverishly in their shadow. Renaissance Venice was known for producing some of the finest colourists the world has ever witnessed and, evidently, the young aspirant was inspired.

During the early part of his career, he produced numerous religious works in addition to portraiture. These included two canvases for the church of Saints Ermacora and Fortunato in Trieste, which formed part of a polyptych. He also painted his brothers, Giuseppe Rota and Giacomo Rota, a well-known musician and a famous opera singer respectively.

It’s plausible that he remained in Trieste until 1874 when he relocated to Vienna. This was followed, sixteen years later, by a move to Paris.

Today, as we consider the oeuvre of this gifted Italian artisan, it’s his use of colour that carries the greatest poignancy. Like Titian before him, his works encapsulate the boundless spirit of Venice.

He represented at the Civico Museo Teatrale Carlo Schmidl in Trieste.

Public Collections

Civico Museo Teatrale Carlo Schmidl in Trieste.

Timeline

1832

Born in Trieste, Italy.

Trained under Augusto Tominz (1818-1883).

Trained at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia.

1874

Moved to Vienna, Austria.

1890-1893

According to ‘Il Piccolo di Trieste’, he lived in Paris, France.

1900

Died.

Reviews

Il Piccolo di Trieste (1893)

“At Schollian's there is another small exhibition: we are sailing in the midst of an artistic renaissance and we really should be flattered; many cities that have high and almost bold artistic pretensions would have every right to envy us. Giovanni Rota, the good artist who has made such a good name for himself in Paris, brings us the fruit of his art, not modern it is true, but robust and severe, a follower of that great school that has given us the most illustrious masters.

They are three small heads (one of which is donated to the Poliambulanza) in which we find all the qualities that an artist who is sure of himself and confident in the path he is following can instill. It is the antithesis of modern brush strokes, of sketches, of capricious palettes of color; in these three works, there is the refinement that imposes itself, the certainty of the design, the delicacy of the color, the effect of the light.

In the poses there is perhaps an artificial study but with it however there is the consequent ideal dreamed by the artists of the old school; the romanticism brought to the canvas. But there is transparency and softness in the flesh; the too heavenly sweetness that is found there finds a compensation in the richness of the light colors of an exquisite grace.

The brunette's head, a wonderful type, which Rota has been able to exploit in all its beauty, has a more modern flavour and for this reason it also has a vitality more in keeping with the taste of this century. The white-floral fabric that wraps her head and falls on her shoulders is very thick and the silky waves are very evident and plastic.”

Il Piccolo di Trieste (1897)

“A painting by the painter entitled Raccapriccio is exhibited in the Schollian shop. It depicts the bust of a woman dressed in classical style; the attitude of the hands, of the head, the anguish that is signified on the beautiful face, clearly express the feeling from which the artist wanted his character to take. And the characterisation of this feeling is obtained within the limits of pure aesthetics; that is, both the muscular contraction of the mask and the attitude of the whole person remain very far from the exaggeration of the paroxysm, avoiding the disgusting spectacle of the grimace that excess, the height of passion, imprints on the physiognomy.

Using this parsimony, the artist has obtained two advantages, that of not taking away beauty from the face of the subject, and that of avoiding the observer the tiredness that very quickly invades him if the figure he observes expresses the maximum of pain. This is how the ancients and those who of classical aesthetics thought aesthetically. Rota did not adopt the technique of the most modern schools; at least he has a vigorous brush and very vivid color. In this last painting there is freshness of colors and grace of lines and exquisite harmony of tones.”

Obituaries

Il Piccolo di Trieste.

“Deaths. Giovanni Rota, the delicate and gentle painter, who had a period of great vogue in his youth, has died. He was a pupil of Tominz and then went on to complete his studies at the Academy of Venice. He then went to settle in Paris, where he was able to soon emerge from the crowd, with a personal note, whose characteristic was the grace and the forms and the accuracy of the technique, pushed to the point of meticulousness.

Rota remained rigidly faithful to this art form in all his works, the last of which dates back to a few months ago. A tireless worker, deeply in love with his art, sincerely convinced of having discovered its most select form, he passed with calm and disdainful indifference through the whirlwind of nervous and feverish evolution that has upset painting in the last quarter of a century.

He was a gentle soul, with delicate feelings, an excellent citizen, an irreproachable man. To Giuseppe Rota, the desolate brother, we send our sincere condolences.”