Enrico Tarenghi (1848-1938)
Enjoying the vintage
The Roman Virtuoso.
Enrico Tarenghi was a pillar of the Italian Orientalist school, usually found capturing the blinding light of Algiers. But in this work, the Roman master turns his gaze away from the exotic to the intimate.
Enjoying the vintage displays his technical brilliance. Watercolor is an unforgiving medium, yet Tarenghi handles it with oil-like density and photographic precision. The texture of the fabrics, the play of light on the figures—it is academic mastery applied to a moment of simple pleasure.
Why it matters: Tarenghi was a member of the Belgian Royal Society of Watercolorists and exhibited across Europe from Turin to London. At this estimate, the work represents an incredible value proposition. It is a piece of 19th-century history for the price of a modern print.
Details:
Watercolour.
52 x 36 cm (20.5 x 14.2 in).
Signed lower right: Tarenghi.
Market Context:
Auction: Sworder’s, Stansted (UK).
Date: 11 Nov 2025.
Estimate: £300.