Romano Mussolini - Clown

The clown was a popular subject among genre painters of the 1970s and 1980s. Many artists dedicated much of their careers to depicting this theme, Romano Mussolini being a prime example. Typically, the interpretation of this subject is similar for all artists who attempt it: the clown appears with his makeup designed to evoke laughter and hilarity, but instead displays a melancholic expression. This contrast is intended to spark an empathetic dialogue with the viewer. The clown has also been favored by many painters for another formal reason. Indeed, his flamboyant makeup and colorful clothing offer painters a pretext for creating original color harmonies.

The clown is a favorite subject for Romano Mussolini, always interpreted with his figurative technique, characterized by expressionistic tendencies. In this case, we see a much more concise interpretation than in most of the Romagna artist's works dedicated to the circus character. The artist uses a very bold black line, highlighting the contours with a few essential strokes. As in all his other works on the same theme, emphasis is placed on the large, luminous eyes and the bright red of the nose and mouth. In the details of the hair, Romano Mussolini returns to a more rapid pictorial style, creating a vaporous, light mass, moved by the air. In this work, the color range is very limited, so much so that the painted surface appears almost monochrome. It is part of a series in which Mussolini developed the same clown prototype using different color combinations.

Romano Mussolini was born in Forlì in 1927 and died in Rome in 2006. A primarily figurative painter, he focused primarily on genre subjects such as clowns, horses, and landscapes. His compositions display a simplicity of line and color. His passion for painting began in 1945 in Naples, where, under the guidance of the painters Corrura and Terraccini, he immediately achieved success. Romano Mussolini, in addition to his paintings, was also famous as a jazz musician and composer.

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