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Lot Essay
Bison was an extremely prolific draftsman described by his contemporary as ‘nemico dell’ozio’ (enemy of leisure), always sketching with pen and pencil many different subjects, during the day, but also at night by the light of a lamp (see A. Craievich, in Una passione discreta. La collezione Paolo Galli, Treviso, 2024, p. 238).
He was an eclectic artist busy in Northern Italy as a decorator, scenographer, painter and also costume designer. An important group of his drawings are in an album, Album Scaramangà, in Trieste where Bison had relocated for some time at the beginning of the 19th Century (F. Magnani and G. Pavanello, I disegni di Giuseppe Bernardino Bison dell’Album Scaramangà di Trieste, Trieste, 1996).
In this drawing, the classical subject of the Four Cardinal Virtues - Fortitude, Prudence, Justice, and Temperance - is treated with Neo-classical elegance. The technique, combining fine pen and ink lines with abundant wash, is characteristic of the artist’s graphic manner.
He was an eclectic artist busy in Northern Italy as a decorator, scenographer, painter and also costume designer. An important group of his drawings are in an album, Album Scaramangà, in Trieste where Bison had relocated for some time at the beginning of the 19th Century (F. Magnani and G. Pavanello, I disegni di Giuseppe Bernardino Bison dell’Album Scaramangà di Trieste, Trieste, 1996).
In this drawing, the classical subject of the Four Cardinal Virtues - Fortitude, Prudence, Justice, and Temperance - is treated with Neo-classical elegance. The technique, combining fine pen and ink lines with abundant wash, is characteristic of the artist’s graphic manner.