"Cavaliere Arabo" by Giovan Francesco Gonzaga.

Watercolor on paper
Dimensions: 50 x 35 cm
Work signed lower right 
Signature and title on back 

Born in Milan on June 12, 1921, Giovan Francesco Gonzaga was an Italian painter and sculptor.

Giovan Francesco Gonzaga expressed himself mainly through oil, pencils, watercolor, tempera, lithography and screen printing on canvas. The subjects usually depicted are horses, horsemen, still lifes, soldiers, portraits and landscapes. Also of note are his sacred subjects such as crucifixions, and especially the portraits of the Virgin Mary, etc.

He famously met Giorgio de Chirico in the early fifties at the young Gonzaga's exhibition with the latter being struck by the artist's famous horses. Here is a brief passage of Paolo Levi and G.F. Gonzaga's encounter: "Do I feel like Giorgio De Chirico's continuator and heir? I had a wonderful meeting with Giorgio De Chirico. I was exhibiting at the Gussoni gallery, in via Manzoni. When he arrived I wasn't there. The mere fact that De Chirico wanted to meet me was a great reward for me. I then met him at the Hotel Continental and it was a wonderful moment. Our friendship continued from that day."