Giulio Masseroni - Untitled

The iconography of motherhood is closely linked to the subject of the Madonna and Child. It is probably one of the most popular iconographies in the history of both Western and Eastern art. The Madonna and Child appears since the dawn of medieval painting and remained a constant subject as long as religious themes dominated artistic production (that is, until the 19th century, when themes inspired by everyday life began to be introduced). It is quite common for contemporary artists to treat the iconography of motherhood without directly linking it to the Christian religion.

This work by Giulio Masseroni seems to hark back to Paul Gauguin not only in its primordially matriarchal subject matter, but also, and above all, in the language used. There is a clear reference to Symbolist art, discernible in the way the group is depicted generically, stripped of their individual features, to take on an iconic character. The representation thus transcends the contingent to take on broader meanings. Formally, a sinuous line defines the simple, clean volumes of a closed pyramidal structure. The color is applied, of course, with a Gauguin-like, compact flat brush. Even the palette, charged with primary colors, is consistent with the entire Symbolist aesthetic of this work. The landscape, on the other hand, is more lively and dynamic, with a more expressionist brushstroke, characteristic of Masseroni's painting style.

Giulio Masseroni was a painter from Bergamo, born in 1900 and died in 1980. After attending high school and a technical institute in his hometown, he volunteered at 17 and fought in the Battle of Caporetto during the First World War. In 1920, he joined Gabriele D'Annunzio's legions in the Fiume campaign. Encouraged by his father, he began studying drawing, frequenting Giuseppe Siccardi's studio. In 1925, he held his first solo exhibition in Bergamo, exhibiting at the Accademia Carrara and subsequently in various provincial and regional exhibitions. He participated in the 1932 Venice Biennale (winning the La Colomba prize) and subsequently held solo and group exhibitions in almost every Italian city, as well as in Switzerland and Germany. A member of the Società di Cultura and for ten years a trustee of the city's Fine Arts Union, he was secretary and one of the main organizers of the Bergamo Prize.

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