Aligi Sassu - Centaurs

The subject of the equestrian monument, or the man on horseback, has very ancient origins. It dates back to the classical world, the earliest example of which is the "Rampin Knight," and it had a fundamental political importance for Roman art. Generally, these are sculptures in the round, but there are also cases where this subject appears on painted supports. Themes inspired by the man on horseback, the centauromachy, and the equestrian world in general have thus permeated the entire history of art, not only Western art, and have become a focus of research for contemporary artists such as Marino Marini, Arturo Martini, and Aligi Sassu.

This work is a striking example of Aligi Sassu's pictorial and graphic production, which, while remaining figurative, adopts anti-naturalistic forms. Here too, we note how the subjects are characterized by expressive deformations that accentuate their dynamism and physical effort. All the lines of the composition are designed to convey to the viewer a sense of frenetic movement and strength. The choice of color, in the moving figures of the centaur and the horse, also serves this purpose: the customary red, which for Aligi Sassu is synonymous with strength and speed. As for the rest of the work, the landscape is depicted in a very naturalistic manner, yet always with a concise and immediate touch.

Aligi Sassu, born in Milan in 1912 and died in 2000, was a painter and sculptor. His painting focused primarily on the representation of movement and physical strength, which is why the subject of a man on horseback was always congenial to him. In the late 1970s, he and Bruno Munari drafted the pictorial manifesto "Dynamism and Muscular Reform," which called for a return to anti-naturalistic forms in a dynamic sense. Much of his painting, moreover, is inspired by Delacroix and his struggles.

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