Corrado Cagli - Louis Dussiex

In this pair of works, Corrado Cagli seems to draw inspiration from the Italian pictorial tradition, including in his interpretative approach. In addition to seeking a perfectly naturalistic rendering of the subject, the artist creates perfectly proportioned and calibrated compositions. This reference to the Italian pictorial tradition is then expressed in various ways: the self-portrait, done in pencil on paper, seems to imitate the genre of the sketch, with its essential and elegant graphic line, in an iconography reminiscent of fifteenth-century humanism; the portrait of Louis Dussiex, on the other hand, formally has a decidedly plastic connotation, and its sitter displays an affinity with the eccentricities of Mannerism.

The stylistic approach employed in Louis Dussiex's portrait, however, is different. In this work, Cagli takes us into the realm of the surreal, yet still in an archaic and bizarre manner that can be traced back to a refined quotation. The figure is captured perfectly in profile and constructed with a decisive plastic exaltation of form and volume. The subject is developed as a biomorphic mass whose full material consistency, thanks to Cagli's technical prowess, is evident. This is achieved primarily through a solid drawing structure that inflates and magnifies the volumes. To further enhance this effect of consistency, the painter, in a calligraphic manner, works the entire figure, giving it a rough and scaly surface. The face, with its iconic hardness, appears almost stone-like in its geometric cuts.

Corrado Cagli was born in Ancona in 1910 and died in Rome in 1976. His artistic training was divided between Rome, Paris, and New York. Throughout his career, he experimented with various artistic languages, ultimately arriving at a modern contextualization of 15th- and 16th-century art. His works are always characterized by geometric and abstract motifs, earning him the nickname "the Italian Picasso." He employed a variety of techniques, including unusual ones, such as encaustic and mosaic.

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