In a Roman Osteria
by BLOCH, Carl Heinrich, Oil on canvas, 149 x 178 cm
This painting is an intensified version of a painting by one of Bloch’s major predecessors, Wilhelm Marstrand (1810-1873); specifically his charming Italian Osteria Scene from 1848 (Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek). It is one of Bloch’s most popular genre pictures and is typical of his seductive ability to depict objects, details, and clothes with striking realism.
Bloch’s genre paintings were usually very amusing, but also often rather strange and very much open to interpretation.