The painting was painted during the heyday of Cremona's artistry, probably in the 1870s.
The prototype for “The Falconer” was Ginevra (Gianni) Borroni. There was a renowned Milanese beauty and a muse to artists of the Scapigliatura circle. Cremona was in love with her, and this passion gave the picture a special sensuality.
The picture is called “Falconer” (a man engaged in falconry), there is no dynamic hunting here. This is more of a portrait in an interior or against the backdrop of nature, where the falcon is an attribute of nobility and a romantic mood.
In the last years of his life, Tranquillo Cremona suffered from depression and illness. It is believed that it was precisely because of psychological stress and the search for the ideal of beauty that he created his best works, including “The Falconer,” where reality dissolves in a light-air haze.
The original is currently kept in the Gallery of Modern Art in Milan.
The Falconer portrays a figure holding a falcon, but the painting is less about hunting and more about emotion, beauty, and human relationships. The Falcon, traditionally associated with nobility, power, and romance, serves as a symbolic element rather than a practical one. The soft, blurred brushstrokes create a dreamlike atmosphere, making the subject appear as if emerging from memory rather than reality.
