Childhood

Presented at the inaugural Triennale di Milano exhibition in 1891, alongside Maternity by Gaetano Previati, The Two Mothers is one of Segantini's most celebrated and talked-about works, which firmly established the revolutionary new technique known as Divisionism. This genre scene, which is traditional only in appearance, represents the first step in Segantini's progression towards a so-called "painting of ideas." The woman with the baby, and the cow with her calf, are elevated to serve as universal symbols of motherhood. The studied effect of artificial light, shown in the rendering of the lantern-lit stable, gives this humble scene an intensity that could only be achieved with the Divisionist technique. Inspired by a profound and sincere sense of rigorously objective and impartial observation (influenced by the Italian "verismo" movement), this naturalism is captured through thread-like brush strokes of divided color, with pure color applied directly to the canvas.Meanwhile, a more traditional technique can be seen in the earthy tones. The final effect is a work whose meaning goes beyond the surface of reality, aspiring to represent a universal image of the origins of life. This imposing canvas—together with one of a pagan goddess—was commissioned by the banker Leopoldo Albini in around 1891. They were probably placed in a room in his luxurious home, before they were later loaned to the Segantini exhibition in Sforza Castle, in 1894. It was Albini who donated this piece to the GAM in 1918, in his will.

This is the second version—left incomplete by Pellizza da Volpedo before being finished by the painter Angelo Barabino—of another canvas that was thought to be lost for a long time. It then reappeared for auction at Sotheby's in London in 1980, having been kept in a private home in England for almost40 years. Spring Idyll (1896–1901)—the original work, which is still kept in a private collection—was initially conceived as the first in a series of idyll paintings on the theme of love. The image was meant to represent a metaphor for life, which blossoms and flourishes time and again in the spring landscape. The depiction of children playing ring-around-the-rosy was exhibited at the VeniceBiennale in 1903 where, despite conflicting reviews, it was remarkably popular with the public, before it was sold to an Amsterdam merchant in Rome in 1906. Perhaps it was the success of this image that encouraged Pellizza to replicate Spring Idyll, using the same paper with the original drawing but presumably deciding to add variations. Nevertheless, Barabino would later complete this replica, scrupulously following the original drawing by the artist from Volpedo. In terms of the compositional structure, the artist found inspiration in a successful 17th-century work by Francesco Albani: The Dance of the Cupids,kept at the Pinocateca di Brera gallery in Milan. However,he changed the scene to the natural setting of Volpedo, and specifically the meadows by his family residence.

This piece by Gaetano Previati (originally entitledMadonna) was exhibited at the second Brera Triennale in 1894 as a manifesto of the new Symbolist language that the Ferrara-born painter discovered during his trip to France, in1892. Here, however, the tone is more markedly Catholic than in the idealized, spiritual celebration of this theme in Maternity, the controversial canvas presented at the inaugural Triennale in 1891. The work portrays a heavenly vision of the Madonna with the Baby Jesus in a field of lilies. The disciplined Divisionist techniques are given new religious and spiritual values, inspired by the Pre-Raphaelites, as can be seen in the vibrant splashes of color that surround the Virgin's head like a halo. While the brushstrokes of the floral background are vertical, the Virgin's garment is rendered with a contrasting horizontal hatching effect to delineate her figure.

"Ecce Puer" is the last original work crafted by Rosso, who, in the years that followed devoted himself to replicating and creating variants of the works he had molded up to that point. The plaster figure found in the GAM is the original model,of which there are at least 12 different versions. French Prime Minister GeorgesClemenceau visited his studio in 1907 and personally selected it for the Musée du Luxembourg, which was dedicated to living artists. Emile Mond, a wealthy industrialist, commissioned the sculptor to create a portrait of his son, Alfred, when the artist visited the wealthy family's London home in 1906. The legend goes that Rosso crafted the piece during a night of fevered work at the London residence, but some critics believe that the portrait was actually modeled at his studio in Batignolles after he returned to Paris,from a mix of sketches and memory. The work was exhibited at the Musée du Luxembourg until 1920,when it was removed and sent to the Musée des Écoles Étrangères (the label with the French reference number still appears on the front). After the artist died,his son Francesco got the plaster figure back in exchange fora bronze cast (today found at the Musée d'Orsay) and brought it to Barzio. It remained the reuntil 1946 when, on the occasion of Medardo Rosso's first posthumous exhibition,it went to the painter Ezio Pastorio, who later sold it to the Municipality of Milan.