This is the kind of stuff im thinking about as im painting in the mancini project. Verismo Movement in Italy, primarily in Naples and Tuscany, from c. 1850 to 1900 that developed as a response to naturalism and realism in French art and literature. The principal visual artists were Antonio Mancini, FRANCESCO PAOLO MICHETTI and Vincenzo Gemito. In the early part of the century, which was dominated by Neo-classical idealism, an interest in the representation of the real world was confined to landscape painting (e.g. Scuola di Posillipo) and portrait painting, as practised by Andrea Appiani. One of the first Italian painters to observe nature systematically in a similar way to realist artists in France was FILIPPO PALIZZI. In his work Vineyard with Priest (Rome, G. N. A. Mod.), every detail is minutely depicted. Another form of realism is to be seen in the work of Domenico Morelli who, while breaking classical canons and working in tones and values rather than in contours, maintained the importance of imagination over observation. Thus in the Christian Martyrs (1855; Naples, Capodimonte) naturalistic light and colour enhance a religious theme. However, the MACCHIAIOLI, based in Tuscany, were the first group of Italian painters to show an overriding interest in the effects of natural light on form and to concentrate on contemporary subjects, whether political events, as in Michele Cammaranos battle scenes of the Risorgimento, or intimate interiors, as with the paintings of Adriano Cecioni and Odoardo Borrani (1834-1905). One of its members, Giovanni Fattori, wrote in 1903 that Verismo should be a means to show posterity our ways (Maltese, p. 22). Towards the end of the century, particularly in Naples, the desire to capture the essence of contemporary life and to portray the world as it appeared became the dominant movement in both literature and art. A new awareness of popular culture, regional characteristics and local dialects was created by such authors as Giovanni Verga (1840-1922). Among the most prominent painters in this manner was Mancini who, while being close to Morelli stylistically, portrayed ordinary Neapolitans (e.g. Street Urchin, 1868; The Hague, Rijksmus. Mesdag) with a new and profound empathy. Equally, Michetti and Gioacchino Toma portrayed the poor with great fidelity. Although the most successful painter of the group, Michettis flamboyant colour and painterly effects helped to divert the original intentions of Verismo towards sentimentality and overdramatization. In sculpture, Gemito was the most innovative and successful exponent of Verismo. His sculptures are the antithesis of Neo-classical works: each surface is depicted, every flicker of light and shade is suggested, and the poses are taken from ordinary attitudes emphasizing the three-dimensionality of form rather than the noble outline (e.g. Little Fisherboy; for illustration see GEMITO, VINCENZO). This approach was taken to its ultimate conclusion with Medardo Rossos portrait heads, where form virtually dissolves. Read more: answers/topic/verismo#ixzz3Lz4AiVuS
Posted on: Mon, 15 Dec 2014 16:20:43 +0000
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