Aligi Sassu - It's a sculpture, not a horse

A noble animal, a symbol of beauty and harmony, the horse has repeatedly been a prominent subject in the history of art. Since the 14th century, its presence has always been obligatory in battle scenes and equestrian monuments, and painters have always found it challenging to depict it with anatomical precision and naturalistic rendering. In Aligi Sassu's artistic production, the horse is a favorite subject, both in painting and sculpture, recurring as a solitary image or in dramatic battle scenes. Sassu's predilection for the figure of the horse is consistent with the dynamism expressed in his artistic practice, also expressed in the 1970s manifesto "Dynamism and Muscular Reform."

This work is a striking example of Aligi Sassu's artistic production, which, while remaining figurative, adopts anti-naturalistic forms. In this sculpture, too, we note how the subject is characterized by expressive deformations that accentuate its dynamism and physical effort. All the lines of the composition are designed to suggest to the viewer a sense of frenetic movement and strength. In this case, however, from the very beginning of the subject's composition, Sassu favors a very strong impression of movement, depicting the horse in the act of rearing. The familiar complex and tormented modeling of the material, with clear references to the dissolution of form typical of nineteenth-century Romantic painting, only accentuates the animal's energy, characterizing its body with dynamic lines and tensions. The deformations, then, through swelling, highlight the presence of muscles and, therefore, describe the horse's vital energy.

Aligi Sassu, born in Milan in 1912 and died in Pollenca 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 the horse or 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 battles.

The transaction takes place with maximum security for both the seller and the buyer. We take care of the conformity (provenance, authenticity, state of conservation) of the work and handle the shipping.
Returns are possible no later than 14 days after receiving the order.