Attilio Rossi - Two Boatmen

Social themes in art began to gain prominence in the mid-19th century, coinciding with the spread of social questions throughout European societies. The work of painters such as Millet and Daumier, for example, favored subjects related to life in the fields, factory work, or strikes. In Italy, among the first painters to engage deeply with social themes were Pellizza da Volpedo and, in the contemporary era, Renato Guttuso. Some of Attilio Rossi's works also fall within this trend, with his subjects being fishermen and farmers, depicted through his original and personal artistic language, which combines contemporaneity with an authentic and sincere description of a typical social reality.

Attilio Rossi's artistic production fits perfectly into a pictorial movement that combines realist themes with a predominantly expressionist language. Indeed, if the subject matter is the world of work and the working classes, the style calls for a synthetic interpretation of reality. In a two-dimensional space, everything is simplified to transfigure reality in an expressive and symbolic sense. The process of abstraction, therefore, is conducted by the painter to extract the essence from sensory data. The subject is thus resolved in a juxtaposition of chromatic zones arranged in a complex space. In this way, Attilio Rossi creates an image charged with primary, immutable values, thanks to its expressive simplicity and chromatic strength. The compact application of color occurs through a dense, full-bodied brushstroke. Light permeates the entire scene, further crystallizing it in a timeless dimension.

Attilio Rossi (Albairate, 1909 – Milan, 1994) was a painter, graphic designer, publisher, and cultural promoter. In 1925, he began working as a typographer and layout artist at the prestigious Bertieri & Vanzetti Graphic Institute in Milan. At the same time, he attended evening classes at the Brera Academy and the Scuola del Libro (Book School). In 1933, he co-founded the magazine Campo Grafico, which he edited until 1935. From 1935, the growing difficulties of living with the fascist regime led Rossi to emigrate to Argentina. Upon returning to Italy, he continued his painting and graphic work, alongside his work as a cultural organizer, taking part in major events in Milan. In the 1960s, Rossi was involved in the cycle of 13 canvases entitled Via Crucis oggi (The Way of the Cross Today), featuring Christ alongside various figures from contemporary history, now housed at the Museo del Novecento.

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