Mantua, 20th century
The beauty of everyday life, presenting silent objects and landscapes,, characterizes and shapes this remarkable collection
Light in the dark
Perhaps the most intense part of Domenico Pesenti's career best interprets the suggestions of Italian Divisionism. Far from the echoes of Impressionism, this artistic current preferred the contrasts between light and darkness, laying the foundations of the artistic revolution of the 20th century avant-gardes. In this great work, the subject is a mere pretext for a play of brightness and darkness. The dim light that we glimpse in the night of an Italian city appears like a beacon that does not illuminate, but simply touches the massive architectures, which almost seem to rest in a deep sleep.
Vortex
The long artistic career of Monfardini, which allowed him to participate in a Venice Biennale, is rooted in the visual experience of the Po Valley and the Lombardy landscape, which he depicted countless times, especially later in life, in increasingly conventional ways. The work we admire here, however, belongs to his youth, a time when the painter took part, with a special sensitivity, to the Symbolist movement, which in those years was in part merging with the important avant-garde experience of Futurism. This picture, of which many copies were made which are kept elsewhere, shows a tangle of bodies and souls capable of composing a luminous vortex, in which every existence is inextricably intertwined with the others. It is said that Umberto Boccioni praised this composition. It is in fact comparable to some works by Boccioni, in particular to the fundamental cycle called Stati d’Animo. The lively creativity of Monfardini, which he expressed also as a sculptor, and in numerous works created in the course of the 20th century, must be celebrated. He was a sincere painter, who always tried to translate the impressions of his soul onto the canvas. He often achieved very significant results, such as the representation of an abyssal universe whose ultimate goals remain unknown to man.
Houses on the Rio
The pictorial sensibility of Somensari was well suited to capture the more picturesque side of Mantua which, at the beginning of the 20th century, just as today, can be seen in its relationship with the waters that reflect its features in various ways. Here, in particular, the fluid and free brushstroke of the young artist portrays the Rio, the artificial water canal that cuts through the town for compensation between the levels of the Lower and Upper lakes. The beautiful blue seems to gather the buildings that are mirrored and vanish, while everyday life surrounding the buildings seems to withdraw into a state of rest accentuated by the reddish radiance of the sun. A modern vision of a popular and ancient landscape
The man with the pipe
Born into a wealthy family, Guindani managed to cultivate his passion for painting throughout his tranquil existence, an art he fully mastered, taking part in numerous exhibitions, also at a national level. His style is unmistakable, like his love for colour. He paints in a softly expressionist way: the force of facial expressions contrasts with a soft use of the colours, which create in an almost magistral way the appearance of the surrounding world. A world that, in his works, is illuminated by the light of spring or summer that manifests the beauty of creation and the diffused pleasure of sensoriality. In this painting the robust body of a man is almost merged with the elements of the surrounding nature, the colours of which skillfully echo his garments. Also, the pale colour of his eyes and the lively gaze indicate the quiet intelligence of the subject, whose wit is accentuated by the pipe that he holds between his lips with a certain obstinacy. Another characteristic trait of the work by the artists is the use of unusual tones and shades, such as the almost pink sun that colours the top of the character’s hat.
Farmers among the haystacks
Gorni was a true artist. Famous for his sculptures, which mostly depict characters from the Paduan peasant world, he was also an excellent painter and produced wonderful drawings. In all the techniques he used, he demonstrated a powerful and sincere creative attitude, with largely metaphysical influences. In particular, his painting of the 1920s and 1930s can be compared to the work by Carlo Carrà, even though Gorni displays a more solid approach in composing spaces and constructing figures. In the work that we admire here, strong women are portrayed performing their daily work in the fields, immobilizes in a series of poses that are both typical and painful, while the haystacks are coloured with tones that range from red to orange, depicted under an intense blue sky and on a ground that is similar to a dark marble slab. The greatness of Gorni is precisely the ability to grasp these gestures while maintaining the deep tension caused by fatigue and relating to the human condition in general. Thus he alludes to the long working hours, and to an eternity in which every detail of the body claims its belonging to a universal soul.
Still life in clear tones
Facciotto's sensitivity is combined with his subtly innovative capacity. Thus, a seemingly trivial list of objects placed on a white tablecloth turns into a curious review of things that interact with each other through light. In the foreground, fruit and bread, the only elements appearing completely covered in defined colors. Towards the horizon of the large tablecloth, glasses, cups, a half-filled bottle, a plate adorned with a gentle decoration. Facciotto was a member of the Chiarismo movement: in fact, an almost dazzling white triumphs, with shades of gray, blue, and a soft red. It is very difficult to create art by using white on a white surface. And yet, the work creates a strong and sincere effect: as if written on a blank page, every detail acquires value and finally triumphs.
Still life with pumpkin
Facciotto continued to explore nature also during the war, or rather, what remains of nature for man, when, for example, food and dishes are set out on a bare table. The painter's chiarismo here is attenuated, and is replaced, on the one hand, by a colour that seems lost, which covers the table and the walls, and on the other, by more brilliant colors, like the orange of the pumpkin that seems to be guarding the other objects, and above all by the crowd of peaches in the bowl, the interior of which is totally white. The freedom of perspective indicates the decisive influence of the most modern masters. In cases such as this one, the success of the picture lies entirely in the balance of its elements. Facciotto miraculously achieves, using only his instinct, what others, perhaps greater artists than him, are not always able to reach: the musicality of the vision and its freshness.
Landscape within Dosso
Facciotto, from the region north of Mantua, was one of the most important artists of his time. During his short life he composed views and figures of great modernity for the period, all imbued with that lyricism of French origin that suggested a decisive turning point to Italian culture. This landscape represents the countryside surrounding the suburbs of Mantua, and in particular the area of the Psychiatric Hospital in which Facciotto worked as a treasurer. Few elements are enough to underline the explosion of colours and lines: the red gate, the yellow of the fields, the darting trees, the trembling of the houses, the clear atmosphere that allows to identify the influence of the Chiarismo movement. What matters is not so much the represented detail, but the spontaneous though not naive effect, which through the eye of the painter comes to us with always intense freshness.
Swamp
To be born in the hometown of the greatest Latin poet and to live in a city famous for its history and past means to be surrounded by a heritage that can be burdening. Resmi’s art spoke of poverty, and often portrayed barren and sometimes stormy landscapes, in which the well-known outline of the city Mantua, which stands on the shores of two lakes, appears. This is the case of the work that we see here, animated by a heavy yet sincere patheticism. The trunks of the trees remind us of desperate people who, in the long Po valley winter, here nearly over, raise their arms in a primitive and painful gesture. The painting, sometimes called Palude (Swamp), that dates to 1928, shows the dome of Saint Andrew’s cathedral in the distance, the towers, the bell tower. The lake is the size of a puddle in which nothing can be reflected. And yet, it is this whitish strip that sets the tone and intensity of the composition, as if a magical barrier separated the countryside from ancient dwellings. The ground is already green, ready for a spring that will perhaps follow, which does not however yet fully show itself.
Farm and fields
Di Capi was a self-taught painter and a professional cobbler. His nature was so pleasant that his shop became a curious meeting place for Mantuan intellectuals and other artists. Friendship was an important value he always remained faithful to, and this allowed him to maintain important relationships even though his work as a shoemaker forced him to treat painting as a secondary activity. His artistic vocation, however, was strong, and is placidly expressed in a series of works that by far exceed the dimension of amateurism, by virtue of their expressive qualities. A vague influence of Cézanne is present in these paintings, especially in the intention of a gaze that wants to portray the reality and geometry of the houses, which are represented with calm but passionate sensibility. In this composition, the tranquil landscape of the Mantuan countryside is enlivened by the force of the colour green that, like a wave, rises from the ground to shape the trees that delimit square houses, set against a stormy sky. The movement of the brush creates a lively, real and robust composition from nothing. In the features of the larger house, the echoes of the best Italian painting of the twentieth century can be found, and an intonation reminiscent of Morandi.
Stil life on a table
An eclectic character, connoisseur and collector of ancient art, a generous intellectual and an interesting painter, Marini was in fact the fulcrum of the Mantuan group of painters of the Chiarismo movement, whose ideal location was the province around the Colli Morenici. He managed to draw from an almost amateurish experience the freshness and splendor typical of the works of friends and associates who were part of this artistic trend. His quick brushstroke sketches faces of people, landscapes, still-lifes and living natures. The picture presented here is emblematic of his activity, continually broadened by the study of the past and the present. A slanting table serves as a dark background for an essential still-life in which the fruit stands out, schematic though painted with bright colours. Different shades of white and red are combined and compensate each other to give strength to the vision, which shows well-structured figures and a skilful composition.
Pink house
Giulio Perina's ambition consists in representing the surrounding nature in its liveliness and in its intimate strength. The means to achieve this goal is certainly colour, which the artist applies by creating areas of colour that are then spread and superimposed, to suggest the consistency of things. Here, the facade of the pink house that gives the title to the work is a simple yet sincere reference point for the gaze, an area of lighter colour, between green and blue, which manifests itself as a distant ghost to which the traveler walking along the path that cuts through the grass continuously tends towards. In order to achieve a convincing overall effect, it is necessary to possess the gift of formal balance. In this Perina excelled, and many of his works confirm this solid and effective artistic process.
Vineyard in the sun
In the course of his artistic adventure, Perina progressively recovered the formal post-Cezannian values of his first compositions which he had in a certain sense left behind when embracing the Chiarismo movement. In particular, the work in question reveals what can be even defined as a cubist approach, in that it treats the group of houses like solid geometries, and the hills behind like gentle half spheres, painted with combined colors. This was actually a brief passage for the artist. His creative path led him, in the years of extreme maturity, to go back to the technique of blotches and coloured streaks that characterize all of his many creations. The picture we admire here displays an unquestionable skill the depiction of landscapes, immobilized by the sun yet vibrant, clearly traced yet soft and welcoming.
Hill landscape
The autumn red of the part of the landscape that is closest to us seems to flair up and cover the country houses that separate us from a pink horizon. The skill of Giulio Perina, who owes his compositional solidity to his continuous meditation on the art of Paul Cézanne, produces a small masterpiece enclosed in a small space. In fact, a normal landscape, perhaps even a trivial one, is transfigured by the scarlet lighting that pervades it, as if flames were rising from the bottom upwards, giving energy to a bare and static view. On the other hand, a fundamental characteristic of Perina’s art is to give a diagonal or vertical movement to his creations, as if a wind were shaking the foundations of the neatness of the underlying patterns. Thus, the triumph of color determines a Post-Impressionist effect, which has its distant origin in Fauve painting.
Still life with lamp
A man of exquisite kindness, shy, but with very strong artistic inclination, Carlo Bondioli taught children and teenagers for a long time, trying to describe with simple words the techniques and structures of the great art of the 20th century. He especially loved Pointillism, Divisionism, Morandi. In others words, artists who addressed, with an almost scientific ardor, the mystery of light and the means to grasp it. His favourite subjects were simple views of his city, or the surrounding landscape, humble arrangements of objects that obviously reminded him of the teaching of the great master from Bologna. He excelled in the techniques of engraving, Indian ink drawings, which mirrored the engravings, in which, with a very light touch, he traced thin lines one next to the other, creating luminous slits that magically constructed shapes. The work we see here belongs to the first part of his artistic adventure. An almost impetuous brushstroke defines the flowers, the vegetables, the fruit surrounding the blue lamp reminiscent of Morandi. The result, however, is too personal to be ascribed to a specific artistic trend. Later, and in the last part of his long life, Bondioli created magnificent, almost Japanese views, silent portraits of a fluctuating world, metaphysical beauties in which the universe is celebrated.
Ideato e promosso da / Founded and Promoted by: Mattia Palazzi (Sindaco del Comune di Mantova) con Lorenza Baroncelli (Assessore alla rigenerazione urbana e del territorio, marketing urbano, progetti e relazioni internazionali del Comune di Mantova) Coordinamento Scientifico / Scientific Coordinator: Sebastiano Sali Curatore testi e immagini / Superintendent texts and images: Giovanni Pasetti Foto di / Photo by: Art Camera Redazione / Editor: Erica Beccalossi Assistente / Assistant: Fabrizio Foresio
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