Louis Jean Alfred Bonamici, born Luigi Bonamici on January 13, 1878 in Livorno (Italy) and died on March 12, 1966 in France, was a French painter of Italian origin.
His oils on canvas or board represent seascapes, port scenes, fishing scenes, creeks, bouquets of flowers, rural landscapes, less frequently village scenes, all in a Provence bathed in sun, as evidenced by his tartan paintings in Martigues.
Palette knife painting was Bonamici’s technique of choice, similar to his contemporary Louis Pastour, but he also sometimes used watercolour. Certain art critics thus see in him a distant pupil of Adolphe Monticelli.
The artist’s work was very present in the art fairs between 1907 and 1935 in Martigues, Cannes, Nice, Toulon, Paris or Marseille. He also painted in Italy (notably in Venice), Greece and North Africa. His trip to North America in 1923-1924 was immortalized by his views of California and he regularly exhibited in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York during the inter-war period.
His prolific production ensured the painter a certain financial ease thanks to a network of renowned gallery owners who rolled out the red carpet for him wherever he exhibited: Moullot in Marseille, Armand Drouant or Georges Petit in Paris, John Levy in New York. He was appointed painter of the Navy in 1921.
In the 1930s, Louis Bonamici moved to Lavandou where he remained until his death.
Artist: Attributed to Louis Bonamici (1878-1966).
Unsigned.
Medium: Oil on canvas, adhered to wood panel.
Condition: Very good condition.
Dimensions: 26 x 41 cm. / 10 ¼ x 16 ¼ in.
Frame: 31 x 45 cm. / 12 ¼ x 17 ¾ in. Gold wood frame, circa 1930. Good condition.
Origin: France.