Angelo Del Bon

Angelo Del Bon was born in Milan in 1898 and died in Desio in 1952. A student of Alciati at the Accademia di Brera, Del Bon quickly expressed his preference for 19th-century painting—not the “little landscapes and grand landscapes with goats and oleographic sunsets, officially recognized and fed to the public,” but that of the masters. His references included Ranzoni, Piccio, and Gola, whom he particularly admired for their undisciplined line and the clear light that animates their landscapes, bridging the gap between “reality and its translation in the individual dream of the artist.”

Among his “liquid landscapes,” as described by Giampiero Giani, is the work Rocca delle Caminate in the Iannaccone Collection. In this expansive hilly view, the volumes seem to dissolve into a light and impalpable matter, rendering even the few houses immersed in the vegetation insubstantial. The brushwork varies from elongated strokes to short, rapid touches; however, it is in the timid and emotional character of the painting that Del Bon achieves one of his most interesting realizations. In 1939, Del Bon submitted this painting to the first edition of the Premio Bergamo, which that year focused on the Italian landscape. Subsequently, the work was renamed Rocca delle Caminate n. 2 to highlight the repainting practiced by the artist, who decided to eliminate the recognizable scene of plowing in the foreground that appeared in the reproduction published in the prize catalog.