Subject: portrait of an elderly woman
Support and technique: oil on canvas
Author: signed "Laretto" lower left and dated "1925" lower right.
Anacleto Laretto was born in Grana on 10 April 1874 and at the age of 15 he moved to Asti where he continued his studies, at the end of which his teacher Michelangelo Pittatore, an established painter, and the renowned sculptor Contratti directed the young artist towards some institute of Fine Arts. Laretto thus decided to attend the Accademia Albertina in Turin, thanks to the subsidies received from the Opera pia Testa di Grana, which was mentioned in the section Grana – historical notes, second part. Thanks to his now well-defined talents, he also obtained financial support from the Province of Alessandria and the Royal House, so that he could avail himself, for his improvement, of the guidance of established artists such as Celestino Gilardi, Giacomo Grosso and Andrea Tavernier. With his return to Asti he began a collaboration with his old teacher Pittatore and made his mark by organizing important exhibitions, as well as by drafting and editing the catalogue of the Museo Civico, of which he became director. The chronicles of the time define him as a “tireless craftsman of the brush” and Laretto certainly shows undoubted technical ability, revealing himself, among other things, particularly skilled in transferring mural works (frescoes) onto canvas. He became famous with his portraits, where he left a truly personal mark, with exquisite and noble technique, and a splendid example of this artistic style is represented by “The Portrait of a Lady”, even if his masterpiece remains the altarpiece of “Christ the King” in the Madonna del Portone sanctuary in Asti. But his undisputed qualities also emerge clearly in the retouching of ancient canvases deteriorated by time or neglect and in the numerous frescoes and oil works of a religious nature that adorn many churches in the Asti area. Examples of his skill and his painting technique are also visible in Grana with a canvas depicting the penitent Saint Peter, housed in the church of the Annunziata, and with the creation of the mural of the four Evangelists in the parish church, work carried out in 1933 to redo the old frescoes by Giuseppe Masoero deteriorated by water infiltration. Regarding these four frescoes it should be noted that also in this case, and as well narrated in the various pages of the history of the Parish Church (see here), the generosity of the inhabitants intervened: in fact, the painting of Saint Luke was offered by the accountant Pietro Dessimone, the image of Saint Mark was made possible by a donation from the family of Comm. Garrone, the fresco of Saint Matthew saw the contribution of Pietro Arrobbio and that of Saint John was the result of a donation from the knight Giuseppe Arrobbio. Donations made clearly visible on each fresco. The Gazzetta Sera of April 20, 1950 reports: “…he had established himself in the art of portraiture, excelling in the portrait of the historian Gabiani. Having moved on to the restoration of ancient works, he became a distinguished scholar…”. Anacleto Laretto died in Asti on April 15, 1950 and in 1962 the Municipality of Asti, with a specific provision of the City Council, decided to name a street in the city after him, between Via Pergolesi and Via Turati.
Period: dated 1925
Origin: Piedmont
Condition: very good (see photos, consider age)
Measurements: 35 x 45 cm (painting measurements) - 48 x 58 cm (including frame)
