Futurism. The Novecento. Abstraction. Italian Art of the 20th century

On 4 February 2005 an exhibition presenting a large cross-section of 20th century Italian art opened in the Nicholas Hall of the State Hermitage. It includes representative works from "metaphysical painting," neo-Classicism, Surrealism, and neo-Realism. The exhibition was organized by the State Hermitage together with the Museum of Modern Art of Trento and Rovereto, with participation by the following institutions: the Municipal Museum of Rovereto; the Municipal Art Collections, Milan; the Banca Intesa, Milan; the Piero Manzoni Archive, Milan; the National Gallery of Modern Art, Rome; the Gallery of Modern Art, Turin; private collections in Bergamo, Venice, Turin and Lugano.

This is the first large-scale exhibition of 20th century Italian art ever to be held in Russia. It covers the period 1900-1970 and features more than 80 paintings, plus three sculptures by Martini and Marini, and also paintings by Massimo Campigli and Giorgio Morandi from the State Hermitage collection.

The Hermitage is showing for the first time the art of Futurism, which was the opening chapter of 20th century Italian art. The movement is represented in this exhibition by works of Boccioni, Balla, Carrà, Severini, Depero, and Prampolini.

Opposition to Futurism led to the rise of so-called "metaphysical painting." The landscapes of Giorgio De Chirico, the still lifes of Carlo Carrà, and Giorgio Morandi, the compositions of Massimo Campigli and Severini's stagings of masquerades, as well as the canvasses of Funi and Olpi signified a return to order and harmony in compositional structure. Several paintings by Giorgio Morandi create a sort of exhibition within the exhibition that has a mood all to itself.

The Novecento (20th century in Italian), or Italian Novecento, as members of this movement called themselves, included Carrà, Campigli, Casorati, De Pisis, Martini, and Sironi. They spoke out against Futurism in the 1920's and proclaimed a move to "national art," taking its inspiration in the Renaissance and Classicism. Marini's sculpture The Boxer, Carrà's painting The Swimmers (1932), Morandi, and the early work of Guttuso such as Figure at a Table (1942) are all clear examples of this movement.

Surrealism produced such outstanding masters as Alberto Savinio.

After the Second World War Abstractionists like Lucio Fontana, Alberto Buri and Piero Manzoni came to the fore. In turn, Social Realism, which is often called neo-Realism, arose in opposition to Abstractionism. One of its bright exponents was Renato Guttuso, and two of his early paintings are on display.

The curator of the exhibition is A.G. Kostenevich, chief of research in the State Hermitage's Department of Western European Art and doctor of art history. On 8-9 February, a scholarly conference devoted to 20th century Italian art will take place in the Hermitage Theatre.

An illustrated scholarly catalogue of the exhibition has been prepared and features articles by Italian art historians and critics.

More

Franco Bernabe, President of the Museum of Modern Art of Trento and Rovereto

At the press conference

At the opening

At the exhibition

The exhibition catalogue