Alberto Pasini

Quotations by Alberto Pasini

Alberto Pasini’s early Orientalist works (up to 1865) are estimated at between 1,500 euros and 10,000 euros if they are small in size. Large works rich in figures executed in his later period, between 1867 and 1875, could fetch up to €60,000 and more, while his later Orientalist subjects, which are of poorer quality, can fall to as low as €5,000. Drawings are also priced around these figures.

These are indicative estimates that depend on many factors. Contact us for a free, accurate estimate of your work.

Biography

Alberto Pasini was born in Busseto in 1826, but soon moved with his mother to Parma, where he grew up and began to cultivate an interest in art under the guidance of his uncle, a painter. While still very young, in 1843 he enrolled at the city’s Academy of Fine Arts. However, he was dissatisfied with the strict academic rules, especially after being refused a scholarship to continue his training in Rome.

In the early years of his career, Pasini devoted himself mainly to engraving. Among his first important works was a series of thirty lithographs dedicated to the castles of Piacenza and Parma, which were well received. In 1848, driven by patriotic ideals, he joined the volunteers of Modena to fight in the first war of independence. After his brief military career, he decided to move first to Turin and then, in 1851, to Paris, the beating heart of European art at the time.

His first significant paintings were presented in Turin in 1855: L’appressarsi di un temporale (The Approach of a Storm) and Rive della Senna (Banks of the Seine), works that already revealed his sensitivity to light and his connection with the Barbizon school.

Arrival in Paris and the trip to Persia

His early days in Paris were not easy. Pasini struggled to fit into the artistic milieu, but found an important ally in Eugène Cicéri, a renowned engraver with whom he collaborated intensively. On Cicéri’s advice, he participated for the first time in the Paris Salon in 1853 with a lithograph. This debut marked the beginning of a long and constant presence at the prestigious exhibition, in which he participated regularly until 1892. In Paris, he also came into contact with the Barbizon artists, who influenced his naturalistic outlook, and became interested in history painters, particularly Delacroix.

In 1855, thanks to the painter Théodore Chassériau’s decision not to take up an official mission, Pasini took part in a diplomatic trip to Persia. This experience proved fundamental to his style and career. He spent more than a year in Turkey, Syria, Egypt and Persia, collecting sketches, impressions and notes that would be transformed, once he returned to Paris, into an extraordinary body of paintings. His canvases, rich in light, colour and ethnographic details, reveal a participatory, attentive gaze, capable of capturing the poetry of everyday life in the Middle East.

In 1857, at the Promotrice in Turin, he exhibited a series of paintings dedicated to Persia, such as Caffè nelle pianure del sud della Persia (Coffee in the southern plains of Persia) and Carovana di cammelli in una strada a Téhéran (Camel caravan on a road in Tehran).

Consecration as an Orientalist painter

His trip to the East marked a turning point: Pasini was recognised as one of the leading exponents of European Orientalism. His paintings won over the public with their luminous rendering and narrative richness. From his return to Paris until the 1890s, he continued to depict subjects drawn from his explorations: deserts, markets, Islamic architecture, caravans and horsemen. Meanwhile, he signed a contract with the famous art dealer Adolphe Goupil, who promoted him in international art circles. In the years that followed, Pasini produced a long series of works on Oriental themes, rich in exotic charm, which were presented at the most important national and European exhibitions. He exhibited regularly at the Promotrici in Turin with works such as Carovana in marcia (Caravan on the March, 1866), Porta di moschea (Mosque Gate, 1880) and Porta di un vecchio arsenale (Turchia) (Gate of an Old Arsenal (Turkey), 1884).

A tireless traveller, Pasini continued to move around throughout his life. In 1860, he visited Egypt again, in 1868 he travelled to Greece and Turkey, and in 1879 he returned to Syria. At the same time, he often stayed in Venice, a city that fascinated him for its light and atmosphere similar to that of the East. In Italy, he exhibited regularly at major exhibitions in Turin, Florence, Bologna, Milan and Venice, winning prizes and awards.

In 1870, at the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War, he was forced to return to Italy for good. He settled in Venice but continued to exhibit successfully in Paris, participating in the Salon until 1896. At the 1887 Venice International Exhibition, he exhibited, among other works, Venezia dalla Giudecca and Quattro studi dal vero. He participated in the 1895 Venice Biennale with Santone in preghiera alla Porta della Moschea di Costantinopoli, and in 1897 with Sosta di cavalieri siriaci.

In 1898, he participated for the last time in a public exhibition in Turin, where he exhibited numerous studies and works. The following year, in 1899, he died at his home in Cavoretto, near Turin, leaving behind a vast body of work that marked the history of European Orientalism.

In 1909, the Venice Biennale dedicated a major posthumous retrospective to him, exhibiting over a hundred paintings: a tribute to the career of an artist who, with his travels, his sensitivity to light and his narrative skill, made a significant contribution to the creation of a fascinating Orientalist imagery.

Elena Lago