Raffaello SORBI
(Florence 1844 - 1931)

Che freddo!
oil on panel 
cm 14x14
dedication bottom left «to the friend Enrico Piceni
the author Raf. Sorbi 1930»

Bibliography:
1) Catalogo Bolaffi della Pittura Italiana dell'Ottocento n.7, Turin, 1978, fig. p. 319.
2) M. Monteverdi, Enrico Piceni. Una vita fedele a se stessa, Bramante, Busto Arsizio, 1989, fig. between pp. 88 and 89.

Among Enrico Piceni's most beloved paintings was the famous one of Giuseppe De Nittis titled "Che freddo!". Since Piceni could not buy it, he decided to commission Raffaelo Sorbi with a work of the same subject and title as his favorite. Naturally, the new Che freddo!, which is a very free interpretation of the original, is much smaller in comparison. This small but beautiful oil should be appreciated as a homage to De Nittis. It constitutes a unique example of Sorbi's works, which generally handled historic themes or Tuscan landscapes.