FILIPPO DE PISIS Italian, 1896–1956 Vaso di Flori (Flower Vase) Oil on canvas Undated oil on canvas still life where brushstrokes create an evocative sense of immediacy and poetic fragility. The composition features a simple vase of flowers set against a neutral background, rendered with a light, airy touch that allows the texture of the canvas to remain visible. To the left, a vertical passage of soft violet-grey suggests a structural element like a doorframe or wall. The floral arrangement itself is minimalist, with dark, slender stems. Signed lower right. Framed. Artwork: 8 3/4 x 5 1/2 in. (22.2 x 14 cm.), Frame: 11 x 8 in. (27.9 x 20.3 cm.) $1,500-2,000
ARTIST PROFILE: Filippo de Pisis (1896–1956) was a prominent Italian painter and poet whose work seamlessly blended literary sensitivity with a distinctively airy, "in-the-moment" visual style. Originally a student of literature and philosophy in Bologna, de Pisis transitioned to painting in Rome before spending significant years in Paris and Venice, where he became known for both his extravagant lifestyle and his evocative cityscapes, maritime scenes, and floral still lifes. His aesthetic is characterized by a "pathetic pleasure-pain" and unexpected spatial juxtapositions, often placing intimate still-life objects against expansive, metaphysically-inspired backdrops. Despite suffering from a neurological disorder in his later years, de Pisis left a prolific legacy, with major collections of his work now housed in the Pinacoteca Civica of Forlì and the Museo Filippo de Pisis in his native Ferrara.
