Late 20th Century “Cattedrale Di Santa Maria Del Fiore” Watercolor Street Scene, Signed Rino Golinelli

Details

Description

The selected artwork is an impressionistic cityscape watercolor painting of Florence, Italy, featuring the iconic dome of the Cattedrale di … Read more The selected artwork is an impressionistic cityscape watercolor painting of Florence, Italy, featuring the iconic dome of the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore (The Duomo) visible at the end of a narrow street.

Scenery: A viewpoint of the Florence Cathedral dome framed by the historic street perspective of Via dei Servi or Via dell'Oriuolo.

Medium: Watercolor and ink on paper.Framing: The painting is professionally matted inside a wide tan/cream mat board and housed in a modern, ribbed metallic silver frame.

Signature: A stylized handwritten cursive signature by the artist is visible in the bottom right corner.

Signature:
Style: Written in a highly stylized, cursive handwriting style using fine-tip brown ink or watercolor line detail.

Composition: The signature features an elongated, fluid uppercase first letter followed by rapid, connected lowercase loops. A prominent, swift horizontal underline sweeps backward from the final letter beneath the name, a common habit among artists to anchor their signature.

It is assumed the artist is the Italian painter, Rino Golinelli. This still requires further examination and confirmation of the signature.

The signature at the bottom of the watercolor artwork reads "Golinelli", corresponding to the prominent Italian artist Rino Golinelli (1932–2017).

Signature Breakdown & Characteristics:
Script Style: The artist used an expressive cursive script rendered in a reddish-brown watercolor pigment that stands out against the muted gray and beige shadows of the pavement.

Initial Letter: The signature begins with a stylized capital "G" composed of a prominent vertical looping upstroke.

Lettering Details: The middle section cleanly loops through lowercase vowels and structures ("-oli-"), which then sweeps fluidly into the distinctive terminal characters ("-nelli"). The final "i" ends with an expressive, elongated downward and rightward flourish.

Consistency: This fast-flowing, single-stroke brush script is a signature hallmark of Golinelli's street scenes and urban water-media landscapes. It aligns with his background as a formal graphics and drawing professor in Modena, Italy, where he appreciated clean visual structure.

Presumed Artist: Rino Golinelli (Italian painter known for his vibrant, fluid impressionist cityscapes and scenes across Europe).

Life and Education: Rino Golinelli was an Italian impressionist painter born in Bomporto di Modena (December 7, 1932 – August 20, 2017). He spent most of his prominent career living and working in Modena, Italy.

Academic Background: He possessed deep technical expertise in structural art, working as a drawing and art history professor at the Tassoni Scientific High School in Modena. He was a well-respected educator who authored foundational art text books, including "Arti Figurative" and "Dimensione Grafica".

Artistic Influence: From 1980 to 1985, he owned and curated the Nuova Mutina art gallery. He regularly traveled throughout Europe, frequently painting classic locations such as Paris, Monaco, and historical town squares across Italy. His style focuses heavily on rapid urban street scenes, capturing the movement of light, architecture, and crowd dynamics.

Style: Modern Impressionism.

Medium: Watercolor on paper.Visual Elements: The piece utilizes loose, expressive brushstrokes and wet-on-wet technique typical of his urban crowd scenes. It features active figures moving along a pavement, capturing shifts in light, long dramatic shadows, and isolated pops of color—most notably the distinct orange jacket worn by the central figure.

This Italian street scene is also similar to another work by artist Debora Ferruzzi Caruso, which depicts the same narrow street scene (from a different angle) in Florence, Italy, with the Duomo in the background. That artwork is titled "Firenze via Via dell'Oriuolo” and features a similar architectural style and perspective to other street scenes of the same style.

The painting is signed by the artist on the lower right and is presented in a modern, light goldish-toned frame with a wide hand-cut mat.

Dimensions:
12in. x 19in. (frame)
12.5in. x 6in. (painting)

Condition:
Two separate yellowish tape markings appear on the bottom left (pictured). A small pencil-ish scratch appears on the right of the matting.

There are pencil markings along the inner frame of the matting; indicating the matte was cut amateurely. This does not affect the artwork itself; offers character if done by the artist, but otherwise the matting can be replaced. It appears as if the underlying artwork is cut to match the size of the frame, as is visible in the top right corner of the artwork. Likely, it can be recentered in a better cut matte, if buyer wishes to change it out.

The frame shows some signs of wear along each edge, with a smaller brick red underlying tone showing through in parts. Frame is sturdy and ready to hang! See less