Giuseppe Gabani

Santa Anita Park Collection of the Los Angeles Turf Club, 1955 (and sold, Christie's, New York, April 8, 2008, lot 28, illustrated)
Private Collection (acquired at the above sale)

The Pasadena Art Museum, English Sporting Art, November 11 - December 11, 1955, no. 9

The following condition report was kindly provided by Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc.: This work on canvas has been lined. Some of the retouches in the sky on the right around the red flag have discolored and could be improved. There is a vertical break in the canvas in this area running about 6 inches. There are retouches around this area extending from the female figure in black in the carriage up into the center of the sky. There is a horizontal line of retouches in the upper center sky and a few other isolated spots of retouching in the sky. The restorations are less numerous within the foreground and figures, and the condition is very good here. The surface is slightly dirty at present. A very light surface clean and an adjustment to some of the retouches in the sky would make the picture very presentable.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Born in Senigallia, on Italy’s Adriatic coast, Giovanni Gabani studied with Cesare Maccari and Giuseppe Raggio and specialized mainly in history paintings, as well as landscapes and animals. Horses are often prominently featured in his works, both in his Orientalist subjects and in his depictions of a day at the races.

Within Gabani's oeuvre, The Derby Reale is a tour de force, demonstrating an ability to construct a complex composition without sacrificing attention to detail, including the rendered musculature of the horses, expressions and gestures of the crowd, and their elegant fashions. The scene takes place at the Capannelle racetrack, just outside of Rome, where the Derby Reale was founded in 1884 and continues to this day, now known as the Derby Italiano. The racetrack was a frequent subject for Gabani since he moved to Rome in 1880, the bustling activity and drama of the race allowed him to flex his artistic skill, as evidenced in the present work.