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RAFFAELE RAGIONE
(Naples 1851 -1925)
SEATED FEMALE FIGURES

Black chalk, signed R. Ragione. On verso another sketch of female figures and the inscription (on the mount) Disegni di Raffaele Ragione eseguiti al Parc Monceau a Parigi / per i suoi noti quadri di bambini e balie (unidentified signature). 225 x 149 mm.

Raffaele Ragione trained at the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples under the guidance of Domenico Morelli. Able to capture small scenes of bourgeois daily life made en plein air through brush strokes rendered in small and large spots, with fresh and delicate tones, Ragione, in his late-impressionist style, is always very sensitive to the variations in daylight. He was present at the Promotrice of Genoa in 1874 and 1875, exhibited in Milan in 1874 and 1895, in Turin in 1875 and 1878 and in Rome in 1893. In 1902 he moved to Paris where he remained until the end of his days, portraying the gardens and parks of the city in the impressionist manner, animated by elegant female figures dressed according to Parisian fashion.