Roberto Merelli (1936-2009) Italian, Oil on Canvas. View of Venice from the Rialto Bridge, looking north from the Grand Canal. Signed and date '66 bottom left. 

Overall: 32 1/2 X 24 1/2 in. 

Sight: 27 X 19 in. 

#3790 . 

Roberto Merelli was born in Venice, Italy in 1936. He studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia, then followed up with private studies learning to draw nude figures. It was during this period that he developed a post-Impressionist technique that focused on “less is more,” often eschewing more than one or two colors in an effort to make the eye interpret the white spaces of his canvases in a unique way. His first major exhibition was in 1966, which led to an invitation to exhibit his figural studies at the 34th Venice Biennale two years later. He became a local celebrity, well-known throughout Venice for his charitable work and frequently paying bills with paintings. He rarely ever traveled beyond Italy, citing the death of his father in an airplane crash in the Regia Aeronautica when he was a child as the basis of his phobia of flying, and it was not until after his death in 2009 that collectors outside of Europe began to appreciate his works. His work can still be found in numerous galleries and museums throughout the Veneto region, and in private collections around the world.