"Busy horse scene in the Borghese villa park in Rome: an image of the famous 4th Carabinieri Regiment during the First Italian War for Independence, at the parade of the cavalry school."

(1884 Neustadt a. d. Hardt - 1957 Bad Dürkheim) "Carousel of the Carabinieri". Original title: Multi-figure equestrian scene on the Piazza di Siena in the park of Villa Borghese in Rome, where an international horse tournament is held every year. The famous 4th Carabinieri Regiment (Italian "4° Reggimento Carabinieri a Cavallo") is depicted, which also portrays the attack of the Carabinieri in the Battle of Pastrengo during the First Italian War of Independence, in a riding school parade ("Carousel"). Painted in an impressionistic style, with a light, loose brushwork, this virtuosic work is from the mature, late oeuvre of Otto Dill, painted in 1955, two years before the artist's death. Otto Dill studied at the Munich Academy from 1908 to 1914 and was a master student of animal painter Heinrich von Zügel from 1909 to 1913, who also introduced him to plein air painting and Impressionism. The depiction of horses and riders, be it in races, tournaments, private rides, parades, or as carriage teams, is one of the central themes in Otto Dill's oeuvre, alongside lions and other big cats. Already in the summer of 1917, Dill was represented with a first, quite extensive collection of 10 oil paintings and 15 drawings at the exhibition in the Munich Glass Palace. As a member of the Munich Secession, 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. Alongside Max Slevogt, Otto Dill is considered one of the most important artists of classical modernism from the Palatinate. Oil on canvas; signed and dated 1955. Mounted on the reverse is a large cotton label with embroidered estate information and number 142 by Emmy Dorothea Dill (1886-1967), widow of the artist; additionally titled on an artist's label. 70 cm x 100 cm. Framed. Provenance: Estate of the artist; Emmy Dorothea Dill (1886-1967); German private collection, Rhineland-Palatinate.