Portrait of Alessandro Franchi and Giuseppe Felli

Giovanni Bruni 1855

In this canvas, the Sienese artist and drawing teacher Giovanni Bruni portrays his young pupils Alessandro Franchi and Giuseppe Felli in very confidential poses and stances. The first of the two pupils from the Institute of Fine Arts in Siena would become an important painter and portraitist, the second a sculptor. The painting became part of the collections of the City of Prato together with the works that Alessandro Franchi (who passed away in 1914) wanted to enhance the Gallery. In fact, the canvas was owned by the painter, who always had fond memories of his master Bruni, having felt loved and appreciated him as if he were his own son.

Technical information

Author: Giovanni Bruni
Title: Portrait of Alessandro Franchi and Giuseppe Felli
Date: 1855
Material and technique: Oil on canvas
Size: 71x57,5 cm
Location: Palazzo Pretorio Museum
Third Floor

The work, which is chronologically located in a period between the Restoration years and the season of Romanticism, is presented as a portrait in a reduced format, with an introspective approach, in line with the tastes and tendencies of most contemporary portrait painters, as seen for instance in the adjacent Self-portrait by Luigi Mussini.
To portray the two young pupils, Giovanni Bruni uses a fresh, naturalistic language that investigates the psychological introspection of the subjects and a more realistic rendering of affections and feelings. Indeed, it is with a certain degree of ease that Franchi observes the spectator, holding a book in his hand, while his brotherly friend Felli approaches him to share the reading.