Portrait of the Moorish Knight

During his Venetian years, stimulated by the comparison with the Academy environment and, in general, with the artistic opportunities offered by the city, Apollonio experimented with different genres and pictorial styles. Alongside the landscape and view shots that would punctuate his entire production, his fame as a portraitist emerged early, which materialized in prestigious commissions: the effigy of the Duke of Aosta, commissioned by the Municipality of Treviso, those of Almerico da Schio and the honorable and patriot Toaldi for Palazzo Garbin in Schio, the official portraits of the Belgian Royals. This last assignment was granted to him thanks to the mediation of the influential Cavalier Pasquale Moresco, portrayed in this painting from 1907.

With an austere gaze, the male figure scrutinizes the observer. The realistic features do not hide the advance of age (the expression lines, the thinning hair, the thick white beard), while the massive structure and the elegant clothing seem to express the authoritativeness and respectability of the character.

The chromatic choice of the background is probably linked to the Pompeian red that characterizes the walls of the living room of Villa Frida in Castello di Godego, the historic residence of the Moresco family (who had it built in the first half of the 19th century) and a famous meeting place for intellectuals, artists and men of letters. Countess Sofia Felissent, wife of the Cavaliere, is also a sensitive patron and amateur painter; with her Apollonio has established, since these years, a lasting relationship of esteem and friendship.
Exhibited in the 1st Treviso art exhibition, held in 1907 at Palazzo Provera, the painting bears witness to the bond established with the Felissent-Moresco family, confirming the artist's ability in the field of "official" portraiture.
Like the previous one, it became part of the collections of the Pinacoteca comunale of Treviso thanks to the bequest, in 1944, of the Countess Sofia Felissent Moresco.