Two small paintings of Venice by DiVity hang in my bedroom. Alberto DiVity was born in 1900 in Italy and painted impressionistic scenes from Venice, Paris, and rainy city scenes. He was quite prolific.
The paintings came to me through strange circumstances.My grandfather Lynne O. Ramer passed in 1971. Grandma was only 52 when my grandfather died. In 1972 I was married and my grandmother was cajoled into joining in to try to catch my bouquet. She caught it! Before a year had passed she had met Milo, who had been a widower for 25 years, and they married a few days before my first anniversary.
Milo had built a home for his wife and daughter, both who died young. Afterwards he kept his home well decorated, calling upon interior decorators from the finest stores.
When my grandparents felt the need to move into a condominium, these paintings left Milo's walls for my family's wall.
I always loved the texture of the thickly applied paint, likely with a palette knife, the deft brush strokes, and the impressionistic style. The colors are wonderful, those hazy blue grays with a hint of green, the warm yellows and reds of the buildings, and the splash of bright red on the gondolas. The dark buildings on the right side have a nice architectural detail and frame the water 'street' scene nicely. DiVity used pure white paint to highlight the water and ropes and boat outlines.
Five years ago my father passed and I inherited my family home. The original frames were dated and ugly: a yellowed cream frame with gold flecks. I did not think they set off the art well. I had them reframed in dark wood with copper highlights, with a scalloped effect that mirrors the building's silhouettes.
After reading about Venice in Vivaldi's Virgins, I am noticing these paintings all over again.
