Walter Molino - Harlequin with Venice in the Background

Since the 19th century, when painting began to explore various aspects of everyday life, the circus world has been a theme explored by various artists. With the development of Symbolist and Expressionist movements between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the figure of the acrobat, circus performer, or mask began to gain popularity, as they played a key role in the development of complex iconographies with hidden and mysterious meanings. Examples include the figures of artists and harlequins immortalized by Picasso in his "blue" and "rose" periods. With this Arlecchino, Walter Molino pays homage to the Venice Carnival.

Walter Molino's works fall within the realm of genre painting not only because of their subjects—popular scenes and characters—but also because of the painter's objective and highly didactic language. The work is always figurative in its clear framing, where Molino demonstrates his skill in achieving a perfect realistic rendering, rich in detail and anecdotal details. All this is achieved without idealizing filters, but through a spontaneous representation that conveys reality as it is. Molino makes extraordinary use of light to construct an aerial perspective. His brushstrokes display a certain level of synthesis, never compromising the clarity of the anecdotal and realistic narrative, but just enough to imbue the scene with a delicate lyricism enhanced by the light.

Walter Molino (Reggio Emilia, 1915 – Milan, 1997). When his family moved to Milan, at the age of fifteen he published his first sketches in the newspaper Libro e moschetto; noticed by Benito Mussolini, he was called to create satirical cartoons for the daily newspaper Il Popolo d'Italia, the organ of the National Fascist Party. In 1935, he made his debut in the popular weeklies of the Universo publishing house, owned by the brothers Domenico Del Duca and Cino Del Duca: Il Monello, Intrepido and Giovinetto. In 1937, he collaborated on the periodical Argentovivo! of the publisher Enrico De Seta, drawing various comic strips, starting with Dove svolazza il farfallelefante. He contributed to Bertoldo (1936/1943) and Marc'Aurelio (1931/1973), both satirical newspapers in which he stood out for his drawings of particularly provocative women.

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