ALBERT LUDOVICI (1820 1894)
Albert Ludovici (1820 1894) was a Genre and Landscape British painter. He was born in England of Italian parents and travelled extensively, living in London, in Paris and in Prague, where his son Albert Jnr (who also became a famous artist) was born, in 1852.
He exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy and became a member of the Society of British Artists, later serving as Treasurer.
Ludovici was particularly well known for his genre paintings, which reflect British and French artistic trends of the late 19th century. In addition to genre scenes, Ludovici was an adept painter of landscapes, animals, interior scenes, and also worked in gouache and watercolour. The Art Journal was high in praise in 1869 about those artists who were considered heirs to the tradition of Wilkie and the seventeenth century Dutch school, a tradition which Ludovici tried to emulate in many of his paintings.
The Sew-Saw is a fine example of such trend. Full of humour and fun and a mixture of construction and naturalism on a small scale, whilst seemingly unrelated objects on the floor lend structure to Dutch still life. Along with his son Albert Jnr, John Morgan and Charles Burton Barber, Ludovici was a fine painter of children in late Victorian England. Working and lower class children were the protagonists in myriad genre paintings. The realities of rustic life were often grim and dire. There were countless destitute and homeless children in Victorian cities and the horrors of child labour were increasingly debated in Victorian times but these issues were not always reflected in paintings .
The See-Saw
Unframed Oil on Canvas, 20.5cm x 26cm (approx 8 inches x 10 inches). Traces of a thin varnish visible in the darker areas. Very Good Condition.
This small gem, showing boys having fun on a see-saw, is by the the19th century British painter Albert Ludovici (1820 1894) whose work is present in many important museums, including the National Portrait Gallery in London; Brighton and Hove Museums, the Glasgow Art Gallery, the Sheffield Art Gallery, the Yale Center for British Art.
LITERATURE: Art Journal 1869; Victorian Childhood in England, by S. Casteras from the Exhibition Catalogue of The Yale Center for British Art, 1986; The Age of Innocence, The Royal Academy Exhibition Catalogue, 1989.
Acquired by a private collector in the USA
