Alberto Casarotti - Cowboy

Portraiture is one of the most widespread artistic expressions, especially in painting, but also in sculpture, throughout the ages. Portraiture is, first and foremost, a description of the subject depicted, an attempt to capture their physiognomy and individual characteristics truthfully and naturally. With the progressive evolution of artistic research, the physiognomic description of the subject has also been accompanied by a psychological one. Therefore, over the centuries, portraiture has also become a means of introspective investigation of the subject, their character, and their state of mind. The processes of abstraction brought about by contemporary art have contributed to this type of investigation.

In this portrait of a boy wearing a cowboy costume, Alberto Casarotti seems to tone down the vigorous expressionism derived from his association with the "Corrente" group, in favor of a more intimate and familiar representation. The portrait, in fact, is characterized by a subdued, minimal realism. The anti-naturalistic overtones of his other works, as well as the expressionistic deformations, are absent. However, the emptying of the subject's material remains, resolved into a flat surface, indicating that Casarotti's aim is always to delve into the true essence of things. Thus, the boy's figure is resolved by a quivering black line that indicates its shape, which is filled with an almost flat application of color in a subtle harmony of browns. This application is far from the gestural force that characterizes his other works, confirming the minimalist nature of this portrait. For Casarotti, minimalism not only signifies family intimacy, but also synthesis and, ultimately, yet another type of expressionistic representation, this time conducted in a more subdued tone.

Alberto Casarotti was born in Verona in 1906 and passed away in Montalto di Rivoli in 1991. His artistic training took place in Milan, where, in the 1930s, he frequented Arturo Martini, Carrà, Manzù, De Chirico, and the other artists who exhibited at the Il Milione gallery. A pivotal moment was 1942, when the painter, after a period at the Brera Academy, became involved with the "Corrente" group and befriended Renato Birolli. With his first official exhibition, in 1945, at the Santa Redegonda gallery, Casarotti immediately achieved public and critical acclaim. Among his many participations in events and exhibitions, we also remember his two appearances at the Venice Biennale (1950 and 1985) and the major retrospective held in 1990 at the Palazzo della Gran Guardia in Verona.

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