Mattutino

A 1901 cardboard work by Cabianca represents his output at the very end of his career — he died in 1902. The continued use of cardboard at this late stage reflects a lifetime commitment to small-format direct painting as a primary mode of artistic engagement rather than merely preparatory practice. In the context of early twentieth-century Italian art, where younger painters were beginning to engage with Divisionism, Symbolism, and eventually the first stirrings of the avant-garde, Cabianca's cardboard sketches represent a dignified and self-consistent late practice rooted in the empirical observation that had defined his generation's contribution. The 1901 date may make this one of his final surviving works, and it carries the historical weight of a long career maintained with personal integrity.

A 1901 cardboard work shows tonal painting practiced with the ease of lifelong habit — the separation of light and shadow, the warm-cool palette, the direct brushwork are all automatic and unforced. Small format suits both the intimacy of late-career production and the practical realities of an aging painter's studio practice.