Pietro Morando - Untitled

Social themes in art began to gain prominence in the mid-19th century, coinciding with the spread of social questions throughout European societies. The work of painters such as Millet and Daumier, for example, favored subjects related to life in the fields, factory work, or strikes. In Italy, among the first painters to engage deeply with social themes were Pellizza da Volpedo and, in the contemporary era, Renato Guttuso. Specifically, in the work of Pietro Morando, one of the most recurring themes in his paintings is linked to the daily lives of the poor, to work, in small paintings featuring fishermen, priests, and humble folk.

Pietro Morando's artistic production fits perfectly into a pictorial movement that combines realist themes with a predominantly expressionist language. While the subject matter focuses on the world of work, the working classes, and everyday life, his style embraces a synthetic interpretation of reality. In a flattened, decontextualized space, everything is simplified to transfigure reality in an expressive and symbolic sense. He moves beyond the particular to arrive at an iconic representation with universal characteristics. The process of abstraction, therefore, is conducted by the painter to extract the essence from sensory data. The subject matter is thus resolved with a few clean, essential lines that define square, geometric volumes. In this way, Morando creates an image charged with primary, immutable values, thanks to his expressive simplicity and chromatic power. The compact application of color, when used, leverages a palette of vibrant hues to create harmonious polychromes.

Pietro Morando (Alessandria, 1889 – 1980). He spent his entire life in his hometown, taking extensive trips to France and overseas. His love of drawing led him to produce countless works, even using the meager means afforded him by the First World War. For decades, he frequented Carlo Carrà's Milanese studio, with whom he shared not only friendship but also cultural exchanges on painting. He exhibited at the Promotrice in Turin from 1920 onwards and participated in the Rome Quadrennial and the Milan Triennial. He exhibited at the Venice Biennale in 1924, 1926, 1928, 1932, 1934, 1948, 1950, and 1956. Morando's works are held at the Italian War History Museum in Rovereto and at the Civic Art Gallery in Alessandria.

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