Hello, everyone!
Today we’ll talk about a wonderful cultural visit we made outside of Rome, in Ardea specifically.
This museum holds the works of one of the greatest Italian artists of the 20th century: Giacomo Manzù (Bergamo 1908–Rome 1991)
The collection is organized with a different room for each subject in which we see expressions of Manzù’s work portraying vastly different subjects.
We can admire sacred subjects as well as actors.
One big surprise was the subjects called “Animalier,” whereas his portraits of models are classics, even if there was only one, his beloved Inge, wife and model, who was with him throughout his life. And there are many other creations all true to his passion and talent.
During the museum visit, we learned regarding his models that he started with the “painter and his model” theme in the mid-1930s and never stopped, making many versions of it, both in sculpture and drawing and painting, adopting many different techniques (oil, tempera, lithograph, etc). Women were one of the key themes that inspired the work of Giacomo Manzù.
The artist usually portrayed himself sitting wearing a hat (also his trademark in everyday life) while the nude model is kneeling or standing apart.
Other times she is depicted only from the back, the front, or from the side on a chair.
The “painter with his model” replaced the self-portrait and expressed the intimate relationship between the observing artist who can glean the essence of the subject before him and the woman, the object of study who lets herself be silently studied.
Beautiful museum, wonderful visit, and a great Italian artist. Don’t miss it.