Portraits of the soul
Madness, pride, hope, restlessness and melancholy: a journey into the emotions of the human soul through a selection of modern and contemporary portraits
Over the centuries, artists have been able to express every nuance of human emotion and psyche through the protagonists of their works. In the selected works it will be possible to identify different states of mind: madness, pride, hope, restlessness, and melancholy.
Nina Crazy for Love (1850) by Giacomo FiamminghiGalleria d'Arte Moderna Achille Forti
Nina Crazy for Love (1850)
The painting is inspired by the melodrama "Nina, o sia La pazza per amore" (1789). Nina has lost her mind: her beloved Lindoro has been mortally wounded during a duel. Lindoro, although seriously injured, survives and in the end the young lovers happily reunite.
The torment of the woman, plunged into mad melancholy and obsessed by continuous ranting, is emphasized by the elements that crowd the composition: the broken portrait of the beloved who perished during a duel, the overturned table, the letters abandoned on the floor.
Portrait of Emilia Vignola (1903) by Alfredo SaviniGalleria d'Arte Moderna Achille Forti
Portrait of Emilia Vignola (1903)
The portrait of Emilia Vignola, wife of the Veronese painter Gaetano Miolato, was painted by Alfredo Savini in 1903 and has a strong Art Nouveau connotation.
The figure appears to be that of an ancient Venus, very elegant, with an absorbed and detached look, standing in a garden while moving the veil of her headdress moved by the wind.
Hagar in the Desert (1839) by Domenico ScattolaGalleria d'Arte Moderna Achille Forti
Hagar in the Desert (1839)
The subject depicted comes from Genesis. Hagar lies with Abraham by order of Sarah but, when Sarah gives birth to Isaac, she asks for the removal of Hagar and her son Ishmael. In the desert of Beersheba they are saved by an angel sent by God who shows them a well of water.
The painting reveals Domenico Scattola's ability to charge the subjects of his canvases with great emotion, manifested by intense gestures and expressions. The academic composition of the painting and the choice of colors reveal a stylistic link with the painting of Hayez.
Girl in Red. Portrait of Girl with Red Apron (1911) by Guido TrentiniGalleria d'Arte Moderna Achille Forti
Girl in Red. Portrait of Girl with Red Apron (1911)
This pre-secessionist painting, in which Alfredo Savini is clearly influenced, is a prime example of the artist's style during his formative years at the Cignaroli Academy in Verona. It combines expressive freedom with a sense of reality.
The young woman's adolescent restlessness emerges in the painting, manifested by a rigid pose and a restless facial expression.
Pia dei Tolomei (1853-1855) by Lorenzo RizziGalleria d'Arte Moderna Achille Forti
Pia dei Tolomei (1853-1855)
Pia dei Tolomei is the protagonist of Rizzi's painting. Mentioned by Dante Alighieri in the fifth canto of the Purgatory, the character was identified with a Pia de' Tolomei, wife of Nello dei Pannocchieschi, who allegedly had her killed to get married again.
Pia, looking out from the balcony of the castle, waits with a bowed head, enclosed in her elegant dress, for a fate that the wedding ring in the foreground seems to dramatically presage. It will be her husband, in fact, who will kill her by throwing her out of a castle window.
