Felice Vellan (1889-1976) - Mercato di Corso Valdocco a Torino con la neve

# Winter Torino and Urban Memory: Felice Vellan's Mercy Mercato di Corso Valdocco in Turin with Snow **Felice Vellan (Turin, 1889 – 1976)** *Mercato di Corso Valdocco a Torino con la neve* **Oil on carton, cm 22 × 28.5** **Signed bottom left and on the back** **With frame** **Estimate: € 300 – 400** ## Felice Vellan and 20th-Century Turin Felice Vellan, born in Turin in 1889 and who passed away in 1976, is a particularly interesting figure in Piedmontese painting of the 20th century, deeply linked to the city of Turin and the landscape of Piedmont. Having trained at the **Accademia Albertina di Belle Arti**, he later attended the studio of Giovanni Guarlotti, from whom he inherited a particular attention to landscape. His artistic activity developed through a very varied production, including Piedmontese landscapes, urban views, scenes of daily life, mountain settings, and compositions with figures. Vellan was also an illustrator and collaborated with Turin-based periodicals and newspapers, including *La Stampa*. Particularly significant is his relationship with Turin: the artist did not limit himself to the representation of Piedmont's natural landscapes, but also told **the city, its squares, streets, markets, and daily life**, building over time a kind of personal pictorial memory of the territory. ## The Market of Corso Valdocco *Mercato di Corso Valdocco a Torino con la neve* belongs precisely to this dimension of Vellan's production. The subject unites two elements particularly representative of his painting: **the city of Turin and the winter landscape**. The market introduces a human and narrative component into the view. We are not facing a simple architectural representation of a Turin street, but a lived place, crossed by people and animated by daily activities. The snow, however, radically alters the perception of the urban space. The streets, buildings, and human presences are inserted into a more intimate, quiet atmosphere, in which the city landscape takes on almost the character of an intimate scene. This ability to transform a everyday place into an image endowed with a particular atmosphere is one of the most interesting aspects of Vellan's painting. ## Turin as a Pictorial Subject The choice of **Corso Valdocco** adds documentary value as well as artistic value to the work. The Turin depicted by Vellan is not only that of grand monuments and monumental perspectives, but also that of neighborhoods, squares, and places of daily life. In this sense, *Mercato di Corso Valdocco a Torino con la neve* can be read as a small testimony of the **lived Turin of the 20th century**, filtered through the gaze of an artist deeply attached to the city. The market, with its human presence, becomes an integral part of the view: the city is not a backdrop, but the real protagonist of the composition. Interestingly, the market and urban-life scenes constitute indeed a documented theme in Vellan's output. For example, Aste Bolaffi proposed *Biella piazza del mercato* of 1942, oil on carton of **21.5 × 28 cm**, signed bottom left and again signed, dated, and titled on the back. The lot was sold for **€325**. The comparison is particularly meaningful for the present painting, as it presents **technique, dimensions, and urban subject** very close. ## Technical and Stylistic Analysis The work is executed in **oil on carton**, a support frequently used by Vellan for his small-to-medium scale compositions. The dimensions of **22 × 28.5 cm** give the painting a compact character, almost like a view observed directly and fixed through rapid and concentrated painting. The carton lends itself very well to this kind of study: it allows a direct application of color and an immediate construction of the composition, suitable for landscape painting and the representation of urban scenes. The format also finds very precise comparisons in the artist's market. *Presso Oulx*, of 1935, measures **22 × 27 cm** and is oil on cardboard, with signature bottom left and indications on the back; the painting was sold for **€300**. *Paesaggio montano* of 1942 measures **21.5 × 27.5 cm**, also oil on carton, and was sold for **€350**. These comparisons show how the present work's format is representative of Vellan's production. ## The Snow in Felice Vellan's Painting Particularly interesting is the theme of **snow**, which recurs with some frequency in the artist's production. Vellan dedicated numerous works to winter landscapes, from Alpine locales to Piedmont settings. Among the most significant results documented on the market are *Case sotto la neve (In val di Macugnaga)* of 1923, oil on pressed carton of 35.5 × 43.5 cm, sold for **€1,200**, and *Grande nevicata a Plan Pincieux, Val d'Aosta*, of 1925, oil on panel of 36 × 45 cm, sold for **€1,700**. Even a work much closer in size, *Nevicata a St. Moritz, Engadina*, measures **22 × 27 cm**, is oil on carton and bears the signature bottom left. The piece, dated 1930, was offered by Trend Auction with an estimate of **€600–800**. The presence of snow in the present painting thus takes on a meaning particularly coherent with the artist's repertoire: it is not merely an atmospheric element, but a means to modify **light, color, depth, and rhythm of the scene**. ## The Signature on the Recto and the Verso An element of particular interest is represented by the **signature both on the bottom left and on the back of the work**. The double presence of the signature is well documented in Vellan's output. In particular, *Biella piazza del mercato* features a signature on the recto and, on the back, title, date, and a new signature by the artist. Also *Ortisei – Inverno* of 1942 is documented with a signature on the bottom left and on the back, together with the date and title. This type of verso intervention is particularly interesting because in several cases Vellan used the back to report **title, localization, date, or additional identifying indications**. In the present painting, the signature on the back thus constitutes a further element to enhance the presentation of the work. ## Collecting Value and Conclusions The estimate of **€300 – 400** appears consistent with the comparisons available for Felice Vellan works of similar size and characteristics. Particularly significant is *Biella piazza del mercato* from 1942, oil on carton of **21.5 × 28 cm**, practically overlapping with the present work's format, signed on the recto and the verso and sold for **€325**. Also *Presso Oulx*, 22 × 27 cm, was sold for €300, while *Paesaggio montano*, 21.5 × 27.5 cm, reached €350. Moreover, of particular interest is the thematic comparison with *Nevicata a St. Moritz, Engadina*, of identical dimensions, 22 × 27 cm, estimated €600–800, and with some of Vellan's larger winter compositions, some of which achieved higher results. *Mercato di Corso Valdocco a Torino con la neve* thus presents itself as a work capable of uniting **artistic interest, documentary value, and a link to the city of Turin**. The compact format, oil on carton, the double signature, the presence of the frame, and especially the choice of an urban subject specifically identified, all contribute to making it particularly interesting for a collection dedicated to Piedmontese painting and the historical memory of Turin in the 20th century. A small painting in which Felice Vellan transforms a daily city scene into a suggestive **Turinese winter view**, where the market, the snow, and urban architecture contribute to conveying the atmosphere of a Turin that is now historical, observed with painterly sensitivity and attention to real life.

Estimación:€300

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