Cleto Capponi - The Voice of the Bass

The painting is in full Futurist style, with converging lines that evoke dynamic, rapid movement. The subject is distinctive and difficult to discern, although, as the title suggests, it could be an abstract transposition of a bass, as the black circle in the center suggests, recalling the hole in the bass's body. But one thing is certain: the painting modulates the lines with formal balance. These features illustrate Cleto Capponi's themes, which were dear to the great Futurist masters, from Umberto Boccioni to Carlo Carrà, Luigi Russolo, Giacomo Balla, and Gino Severini. These artists initiated an unprecedented artistic process, proclaiming a pictorial exploration aimed at capturing the dynamism and movement of the portrayed subject. Futurism, an avant-garde movement, was founded in 1909 by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, with the first of his "manifestos" published in the French magazine Le Figaro that same year. The principles underlying this movement were: the abolition of all traditional forms of expression, the creation of a machine-based culture, and the dynamism and speed that would permeate modern life. All of this was embraced by numerous artists who sought to capture progress and movement through painting.

The painting's style marks a break with the past; Cleto Capponi's strong pictorial expressiveness is the result of studies of form and line. The representation becomes almost disjointed, as if reality were split, briefly recalling the lesson of Pointillist painting. The color is well-laid with interesting nuances that make the painting structured on different planes, with a stimulating depth of perspective.

Cleto Capponi was born in Ascoli Piceno in 1912. In 1922, at the age of 10, he had the opportunity to visit the "First Futurist Exhibition within the Provincial Art Exhibition," curated by Ivo Pannaggi, at the Palazzo del Convitto Nazionale in Macerata. Cleto Capponi was fascinated by the Futurist aesthetic, which included works by Balla, Boccioni, Depero, Sironi, and Pannaggi himself, with Filippo Tommaso Marinetti in attendance. The young artist achieved fame in 1934 when, in a publication of Il Messaggero, Cleto Capponi created a caricature of the boxer Primo Carnera. From then on, he received important commissions for Il Messaggero and Il Popolo d'Italia. He also held important public commissions, including the "Monument to the Fisherman" in 1978 in San Benedetto del Tronto, and the Monument to Sailing in Grottammare in 1985. During his lifetime, he also taught art at the "G. Leopardi" State Middle School in Grottammare. He died in 2000.

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