Ferrara hosts exhibition-tribute to Gaetano Previati, painter between Symbolism and Futurism

Ferrara ’s Castello Estense is preparing to host the exhibition Tra Simbolismo e Futurismo (Between Symbolism and Futurism ), which aims to pay tribute to Gaetano Previati (Ferrara, 1852 - Lavagna, 1920) on the occasion of the centenary of his death.

More than sixty works, including oils, pastels and drawings, about thirty-five of which come from Ferrara’s civic collections, and the others from public and private collections, will be on view to the public from February 8 to June 7, 2020. A nucleus of important unpublished documents will also be present.

Through these masterpieces, the exhibition aims to emphasize in Previati’s production a constant tension toward overcoming the traditional limits of easel painting. The artist proposed an experimental approach to the subjects and mechanisms of vision, renewing Italian art towards the end of the 19th century: fascinated by a painting that expresses feelings and is embodied in large-format works, the artist is considered heir to the masters of the past, the guide of Italian pointillism, but also an example for the young Futurists.

The exhibition will begin with a sketch of the historical-themed painting Gli ostaggi di Crema from 1879, which earned Previati his first public affirmation and reputation as a “bold artistic character to the point of exaggeration.” The Opium Smokers and Cleopatra, on the other hand, testify to a fascination with maudit subjects.

His adherence to Divisionism marked his fundamental turning point with the work In the Meadow preserved at the Pitti Palace, described by the painter himself as “the first attempt at the new technique of breaking up color, a technique that gives the impression of a greater intensity of light.”

Large drawings, paintings and unpublished materials also document the project of representing musical impressions in painting, with the Ferrara love story of Ugo and Parisina. That of Paolo and Francesca also repeatedly stirred Previati’s imagination, culminating in the 1909 masterpiece, an emblem of mood painting: the painting is considered one of the matrices of Boccioni’s famous States of Mind triptych.

Also presented in the exhibition are paintings with religious themes and landscapes; in the depiction of landscape, the artist emphasizes the expressiveness of color and light, as in Hills of Liguria.

Previati also tried his hand at illustrations, enhancing the moods and psychology of the protagonists of literary texts. As an elderly man, he was instead fascinated by the themes of modernity at the center of Marinetti’s and Boccioni’s poetics and composed the Vie del commercio cycle between 1914 and 1916 for the Milan Chamber of Commerce. One of the cycle’s large panels, The Pacific Railroad, accompanied by drawings, will be exceptionally displayed in the exhibition.

The exhibition is curated by Chiara Vorrasi and is organized by Fondazione Ferrara Arte and the Gallerie d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea.

For info: www.palazzodiamanti.it

Image: Gaetano Previati, Assumption (c. 1903; Ferrara, Museo dell’Ottocento)

Ferrara hosts exhibition-tribute to Gaetano Previati, painter between Symbolism and Futurism

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