Carabinieri Carousel

(1884 Neustadt an der Haardt – 1957 Bad Dürkheim) "Carabinieri Carousel." Original title: Crowded Equestrian Scene at the Piazza di Siena in the Villa Borghese Park in Rome, where the international equestrian tournament is held every year. The painting depicts the famous 4th Regiment of Carabinieri (Italian "4° Reggimento Carabinieri a Cavallo"), which also represents the Carabinieri attack at the Battle of Pastrengo during the First Italian War of Independence, at the cavalry school parade ("Carousel"). Painted in an impressionist style with light, free brushstrokes, this virtuoso work is part of Otto Dill’s mature oeuvre, created in 1955, two years before the artist’s death. Otto Dill studied at the Munich Academy from 1908 to 1914 and was a student of the animal painting master Heinrich von Zügel from 1909 to 1913, who also introduced him to plein air painting and impressionism. The depiction of horses and riders—whether races, tournaments, private rides, parades, or carriages—is one of the central themes in Otto Dill’s work, alongside lions and other big cats. As early as the summer of 1917, Dill was presented with his first fairly extensive collection of 10 paintings and 15 drawings at an exhibition in the Munich Glass Palace. As a member of the Munich section, he participated in various exhibitions from 1922 to 1930. In 1924, he was awarded the title of professor, and in 1949 he was appointed an honorary member of the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. In 1930, the artist moved from Munich to Neustadt an der Weinstraße, and in 1941 he moved to Bad Dürkheim, where he lived and worked until his death in 1957. Together with Max Slevogt, Otto Dill is considered one of the most significant artists of classical modernism in the Palatinate. Oil on canvas; signed and dated 1955. On the reverse is a large cotton label with embroidered ownership information and the number 142 from Emmy Dorothea Dill (1886–1967), the artist’s widow; additionally named on the artist’s label. 70 cm x 100 cm. Frame. Provenance: Artist’s estate; Emmy Dorothea Dill (1886–1967); German private collection, Rhineland-Palatinate.