Mino Maccari - Untitled - LPRA002

The work can be defined as a genre scene, that is, the depiction of an episode of everyday life that, apparently, lacks any significant element. These types of domestic subjects were long considered minor and only began to spread in Western art starting in the 17th century. Only with the development of 19th-century realism did everyday subjects become considered as important as historical or religious ones. The Impressionists, in particular, favored subjects related to modern life in urban, bourgeois settings. In the ironic and disenchanted narrative of society, especially bourgeois and provincial, that characterizes Mino Maccari's artistic production, the genre scene cannot be excluded. Maccari's genre scene is dominated by decontextualization, and the focus is entirely on the characters in a scathing existential analysis.

This subject, too, is treated synthetically by artist Mino Maccari, aiming to highlight features that are not only physiognomic but also character-specific, in a sort of caricatural expressionism. The faces are delineated with a decidedly painterly and synthetic line. The aesthetic is deliberately crude, creating expressionist masks reminiscent of the figures of artists like Munch or Ensor. The space is completely two-dimensional, and the figures are squashed into the foreground, in a blur of color with no apparent continuity. The artist begins with phenomenal reality, with the physiognomy of the portrayed characters, but distances himself from it for a deeper, existential analysis, always conducted, by Mino Maccari, with the language of irony and harshness. We are therefore faced with a type of interpretation that prioritizes the expressive, almost violent, force of the work over its verisimilitude.

Mino Maccari was born in Siena in 1898 to a small-town bourgeois family. He served as a field artillery officer in the Great War and, upon returning to Siena, studied law, graduating in 1920. His true passion was not legal studies, but drawing and painting. In 1924, he oversaw the printing of the magazine "Il Selvaggio," which published his first engravings. After leaving his legal career in 1926, he was appointed editor of the periodical, which he followed until 1942. During these early years, when the newspaper had expanded to include art and literary criticism, he collaborated with Ardengo Soffici, Ottone Rosai, and Achille Lega. From 1927 to 1930, Mino Maccari exhibited in several national exhibitions and moved to Turin, where he was appointed editor-in-chief of the newspaper "La Stampa." He worked extensively in the publishing sector and contributed to publications such as "Quadrivio"; "Italia letteraria"; "L'italiano"; Leo Longanesi's "Omnibus" and later wrote for Giuseppe Bottai's "Primato." His production as an illustrator expanded: in 1925 he published Vallecchi's Album, in 1928 Il trastullo di Strapaese; in 1931 he created Linoleum. In 1934, Mino Maccari illustrated Antonio Baldini's La vecchia del Bal Bullier, and in 1942 he published the Album portfolio, followed by Come quando fuori piove and Il superfluo illustrato. Mino Maccari's graphic design is primarily focused on social and political satire, seemingly indirectly reminiscent of the works of James Ensor and George Grosz. While his painting, while not deviating excessively from the themes of his drawings, emphasizes the fantastical aspect, the rapid brushstrokes and colors of his paintings are always united by his graphic style. After World War II, he participated in numerous exhibitions and solo shows: in 1948, he was awarded the international prize for engraving at the Venice Biennale; in 1962, he was appointed president of the Accademia dei Lincei, and the following year, he exhibited at Gallery 63 in New York. He also participated in several international graphic design exhibitions. In 1977, a solo exhibition of his work was held at the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena, his hometown. Maccari died in Rome on June 16, 1989.

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