Giovanni Beri (1841–1924) - Coppia di ritratti di Felice Casorati e della moglie

Pair of antique paintings, oil on canvas, from the 19th century, depicting portraits of Felice Casorati and his wife.

Pair of pendant portraits depicting Felice Casorati, a Pavia mathematician prominent in the academic and civic life of the city, and his wife, executed by Giovanni Beri in 1885 and 1886 respectively.
The two works constitute a particularly significant testimony of late 19th-century Lombard bourgeois portraiture, expressing a sober, measured painting language attentive to the psychological rendering of the subject. The neutral backgrounds, treated with delicate tonal nuances, isolate the figures and reinforce their presence, while the severe, ostentation-free clothing alludes to an ideal of moral and intellectual rigor typical of the Pavia positivist environment.
The male portrait depicts Felice Casorati with flowing beard and dark attire, on which an official decoration is pinned, identifiable as the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, awarded to him in 1885. The Mauritian cross, rendered with meticulous attention, gives the painting a significant documentary value, attesting to the public recognition received by the individual in the same year as the portrait's creation and allowing for a precise chronological contextualization of the work.
The female pendant, dated 1886, depicts the mathematician's wife with an approach that is equally rigorous but of great introspective intensity. The face, crafted with fine and controlled painting, reveals Beri's ability to combine fidelity to truth with psychological sensitivity, a characteristic that made the artist particularly appreciated in the bourgeois environment of Pavia.

Both paintings are signed and dated 'Beri di Pavia' at the bottom right, confirming the autograph and the unified conception of the portrait cycle. The works are from the artist's full maturity, having trained at the Civic School of Painting in Pavia under the guidance of G. Trécourt, a winner of significant academic awards in the 1860s and a leading figure of Lombard Realism. Also active as a painter-photographer, Beri was particularly sought after for oil and mixed media portraits, mainly aimed at the city's intellectual and professional elite.

The condition of the paintings is generally good. The painted surfaces display a homogeneous patina consistent with the period, with normal signs of aging and sporadic, non-invasive restoration interventions. The canvases are structurally stable. In the female portrait, a minor loss of color of about 2 mm is noted, clearly visible in a photographic detail, with no further active lifting or ongoing conservation issues. Overall, the works are structurally sound, aesthetically pleasing, and well preserved, while still showing the physiological traces of time that attest to their authenticity and conservation history.

The original carved and shaped wooden frames, finished with silver leaf and equipped with mechanical fittings, complete with an oval reserve and decorated corner motifs engraved with floral patterns, show signs of use, small chips, and restorations, but retain good integrity and full historical consistency with the paintings. These are included as a courtesy and do not form an integral part of the artwork; any damages to them will not constitute grounds for complaint or order cancellation.

Measurements of the paintings: 69 x 55 cm each - Measurements of the frames: 89 x 73 cm each

Works accompanied by a photographic certificate of authenticity, in accordance with current legal regulations.

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