La notte lava la mente

The title of the work donated to the Hospice by the artist echoes an aspect often present in Baldini’s pieces: the title is borrowed from verses written by Mario Luzi, to reveal, suggest, and whisper what can be perceived in the faces and expressions of Baldini’s figures. Standing before the viewer is a boxer, motionless, staring with a fixed expression; he is training for the match he is about to fight. His gaze is unhappy and despondent since he is fully aware that he will not be the winner. Baldini’s facial expressions speak to us of sadness: in general, they express reflection and pondering (in the etymological sense of the term: to weigh things in the mind) which often show a sense of melancholy. Baldini does not express the glamorous side of the sportsman; he does not depict the popular conventional idea of a life divided between the cursed and the superlative, standing in the spotlight. His figures are losers, defeated by life and by their opponents - figures with little hope but fully aware of their condition. And then night falls, the moment for sleep, when the cleansing action of slumber brings the strength to face the following day, cleaned up and ready for the next match. Because the night cleanses the mind.