Subject Composition

Four women dressed in colourful Renaissance-style costumes are shown standing below what may be a vine. On the reverse of the panel is another image of a standing woman. The exact subject of this picture has not been identified. This is not surprising, since in Monticelli’s late career his technique had evolved to the point where his subject matter was subsidiary to colour and surface texture.Comparison with other works executed by Monticelli between 1877 and 1880, such as Subject Composition, allows us to date the picture to the late 1870s. Like the latter picture, this one is very thickly painted: up to five layers of paint can be detected, and few areas of the panel are left uncovered.