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Artwork Description

This painting was purchased in 1951 through the good offices of Stefano Jacini, president of the Cassa di Risparmio delle Provincie Lombarde, from the children of Count Carlo Cicogna Mozzoni (1867–1928). He had inherited the work from his father, Gian Pietro Cicogna Mozzoni (1839–1917), who was nominated by Aldo Annoni (Padua, 1831 – Ello, 1900) heir of the Cuggiono property, where the family had built the villa that bears their name at the beginning of the 19th century. A year after Annoni’s death, Count Mozzoni commissioned this portrait from the painter Cesare Tallone, which was probably to be hung in the villa at Cuggiono. The purchase of this work can be explained by the role the sitter had played at the bank for around twenty years. He was a lawyer with liberal ideas, a senator of the Kingdom of Italy from 1876 and was president of the Cassa di Risparmio delle Provincie Lombarde from 1881 to 1900, when he was also president of the Commissione Centrale di Beneficenza. The painting was restored when it was purchased, because it had been damaged during its various moves, and initially it went to the branch at Cuggiono and was subsequently hung in the meeting room of the Executive Committee. In 1952 another important painting by Tallone, the Portrait of Ellade Crespi Colombo, entered the collection of the Ospedale Maggiore in Milan. The two works were executed at the same time, but in this portrait in the Cariplo Collection Tallone has painted Aldo Annoni from a photograph, a method widely used during that period. Despite this, the figure is still very true to life, the features and natural pose are those of a living presence, looking towards the left and sitting against a backdrop with a plant motif. This element returns in other works, since Tallone uses it in his Milanese studio in Corso Garibaldi as a background when the bourgeoisie, aristocrats and intellectuals came to him to have their portraits painted. He used the same backdrop when his daughters, who were his favourite models, posed for him, the little Irene, in the painting exhibited in Venice in 1897 (Rome, Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna), and Teresa, portrayed dressed as an oldalisque by Emilio Sommariva, a photographer and painter known at the Brera Academy and like Tallone a partner in the Famiglia Artistica.

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Artist Biography

Cesare Tallone: A Milanese Portraitist Shaped by Tradition and Innovation

Cesare Tallone (1853 – 1919) stands as a prominent figure in Italian painting during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, particularly recognized for his masterful portraits that captured the spirit of Belle Époque Milan. Born in Savona, his formative years were marked by tragedy—the untimely death of his father at just ten—which propelled him and his family to Alexandria, Egypt, where he received a foundational artistic education under pietro sassi. This early exposure instilled within him a deep appreciation for classical ideals and decorative arts, influences that would permeate his subsequent oeuvre. Recognizing his prodigious talent, the city council of Alessandria generously financed his studies at the Brera Academy in 1872, placing him firmly within Milan’s vibrant artistic landscape. He honed his skills under luminaries like Raffaele Casnedi, Luigi Riccardi, and Giuseppe Bertini until graduating in 1880, absorbing the stylistic precepts of Academic Impressionism. Notably, Francesco Hayez, a celebrated artist himself, acknowledged Tallone's potential and granted him access to Hayez’s studio—a pivotal mentorship that solidified his artistic trajectory. Tallone’s involvement with the famiglia artistica, established in 1873 by vespasiano bignami, fostered an environment of intellectual exchange and collaborative creativity. His breakthrough came at the Brera Exhibition of 1879, where he secured first prize for a historical subject—a testament to his ability to synthesize classical technique with contemporary narrative concerns. Continuing this tradition, he revisited the same theme in “Portrait of Luigi Bernasconi” (Rome, Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna) in 1883, demonstrating an unwavering commitment to exploring grand themes through meticulous observation and expressive brushwork. Frequent visits to Rome alongside Antonio Mancini and Francesco Paolo Michetti broadened his artistic horizons and exposed him to the influences of Italian Renaissance art. His success at subsequent exhibitions—including Turin in 1885 and Venice in 1908—established Tallone’s reputation as a respected portraitist amongst Milanese bourgeois, aristocratic circles, and intellectuals. The Prince Umberto Prize awarded in 1908 further validated his artistic achievements, and an entire room at the Venezia Biennale dedicated to his works underscored the significance of his contribution to Italian art history. Cesare Tallone passed away peacefully in Milan in 1921, commemorated by a posthumous retrospective organized by his friend Bignami—a fitting tribute to a lifetime devoted to capturing beauty and conveying emotion through the medium of oil paint.

Notable Works: “Portrait of Luigi Bernasconi,” “The Young Painter,” “Untitled (AQR224),” “Untitled (AQR222)”
Influences: Raffaele Casnedi, Francesco Hayez, Academic Impressionism
Style: Precise observation combined with expressive brushwork; meticulous attention to detail and tonal modulation.

cesare tallone

1853 - 1919

Quick Facts

Artistic Movement Or Style: Divisionism
Artists Or Movements Influenced By This Artist: ['Paul César Helleu']
Artists Who Influenced This Artist: ['Francesco Hayez']
Date Of Death: 1919
Full Name: Cesare Tallone
Nationality: Italian
Notable Artworks:
- Untitled (AQR222)
- Untitled (AQR224)
- The Young Painter
Place Of Birth: Savona, Italy