Fabrizio Clerici - The Trial

The work "The Trial" depicts a dramatic scene, a courtroom deciding the defendant's future. The setting is distinguished by the juxtaposition of dynamism and stillness, while the people seated in the various rows of the courtroom remain almost indifferent. The two central figures are distinguished by the pathos of their action: the defendant, prostrate on the floor, appears to be pleading while the second figure tries to free himself.

The work being analyzed is a lithography. The style, in this case, is naturally influenced by the technique used to create it. The word "lithography" derives from the Greek and means "writing on stone." Indeed, the technique is based on the mutual repulsion of oily and aqueous materials. After initially preparing a very thick stone slab, the artist begins to create his drawing with a grease pencil. When the ink is applied to the stone, it adheres only to the drawing itself. Following previously marked lines on the stone, the sheet of paper is then placed on the slab and the whole is pressed, thus transferring and imprinting the drawing onto the paper. Thanks to the unique characteristics of the technique, the graphic before us almost resembles a pencil drawing, precisely because of the porosity of the stone, which, unlike other graphic techniques, results in a less incisive line. The artist chooses to create a simple, linear design inspired by Renaissance mathematical perspective, which results in a certain rigidity, which in this case, however, is necessary to emphasize the narrative.

Fabrizio Clerici (Milan, 1913 – Rome, 1993) was an Italian painter, set designer, and architect, a protagonist of visionary and cultured art. After graduating in architecture in Rome in 1937, he became involved with the capital's artistic and intellectual circles, forging ties with Alberto Savinio, who would profoundly influence his metaphysical and symbolic imagery.

From the 1940s onwards, his career was divided between painting and theatre design, collaborating with prominent figures such as Giorgio Strehler, Igor Stravinsky, and Peter Ustinov. His travels to the Middle East enriched his iconographic repertoire, populated by fantastical architecture immersed in surreal atmospheres. Esteemed by critics and writers such as Leonardo Sciascia and Federico Zeri, Clerici was celebrated in important exhibitions, including an anthological exhibition at the Palazzo dei Diamanti in Ferrara (1983) and a retrospective at the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna in Rome (1990).

A sophisticated and unconventional artist, Clerici left an indelible mark on twentieth-century art, with works suspended between memory, dream, and myth.

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