#services_global_title#
CONTATTI
ARTE FIGURATIVA
73esima edizione Premio Michetti Figura,ae l’immagine delle immagini
Homo sive pictura. L'umanesimo pittorico di Roberto De Santis.
Nunzio Giustozzi. 2022
Per Roberto De Santis misura di tutte le cose è l'uomo. La figura emerge icastica a descrivere lo spazio oscuro nei formati scelti degli anni ottanta, un luogo in cui una pittura perfetta sa indagare ogni confine della percezione, perché niente esiste che non appaia all'individuo esemplare. Al termine della compiutezza, la materia fluida traduce visivamente sensazioni variabili negli infiniti effetti dell'espressione e del gesto, con un'energia vitale che solo un disegno impeccabile sa fermare e cogliere come restituzione immediata del pensiero. Nei paradigmi olografici dell'estetica contemporanea le stratigrafie create dall'artista trascorrono dal passato ‒ con la conservazione, anzi l'affioramento, di tecniche consumate (buon fresco, olio, acquaforte, finto marmo, lacche) ‒ al presente ‒ con la sperimentazione dei pi. moderni supporti plastici (duri, molli, elastomerici, fosforescenti) e, nella produzione pi. recente che in mostra si presenta per la prima volta, di cariche minerali o vegetali della terra di Sicilia ‒ in diaframmi apparenti che modulano l'intensità della luce e delle cromie potenti, naturali o tipografiche, in un vuoto attraversato dal reale. Sovrapposizioni e dissolvenze propongono talvolta in simultanea l'illusione ottica di più immagini a suggerire un'evoluzione dinamica, temporale; talaltra la figura si imbeve dello spessore della materia stessa dell'opera d'arte e vi sprofonda concedendosi raramente all'osservatore, solo da uno speciale punto di vista e con una particolare condizione luminosa, che egli deve saper ricercare per essere appagato da quella misteriosa visione; altrove si insinua l'avventura della morte dell'anima, solenne e assurda. Le superfici tormentate, sempre più percorse da materici sollevamenti, taglienti fratture, piene di lacune e di lacerti tenuti ancora per miracolo insieme da un reticolo di fibre organiche, destinate inesorabilmente a deperire, diventano cos. metafora tragica di un'esistenza precaria, preda dell'aggressività del nulla. Di converso, la serie di volti, di uomini, di bambini, le bizzarre illustrazioni zoologiche, provenienti da prototipi archeologicamente ripescati nelle cartelle dei lavori di un tempo, vengono replicati in positivo e negativo secondo un nobile esercizio retorico che si carica di una forza magnetica inaudita, capace di rivelare la verità dietro la finzione.
Opere d'Arte Pittoriche, Grafiche e Scultoree
info@robertodesantis.com
(+39) 3286513944
indirizzo
Militello in Val di Catania
Augustine beyond the book. A cura di Karla Pollmann & Meredith Jane Gill.
Brill Editor Leiden NL Boston USA 2012.
The Limits of Autonomy: Augustine over the Edge.
Karla Pollmann.
In 1986, the Italian artist Roberto de Santis was commissioned by the Patres Agostiniani Scalzi of the province Ferrarese-Picena to produce a painting on the occasion of the 1,600th anniversary of the conversion of Augustine. De Santis painted an oil-on-canvas, measuring 55 x 55 cm, with the title Conversione di Sant'Agostino. The work was first displayed in an exhibition at the Galleria di S. Agostino, Rome, in 1986; it is now on permanent display at the 'Convento Madonna della Misericordia in Fermo, the home on the Adriatic coast of the artist himself. To my knowledge, this piece of art has never been the object of scholarly investigation. The painting (fig. 5) is structured in a clear, even austere manner: it is entirely in black, with the exception of one quarter of its area in the left foreground which is white, looking a bit like a white-washed wall. On the top of this wall's right upper edge, which forms precisely the middle of the painting, is the naked torso of a middle-aged, white European-looking male, leaning or crouching, with a sinewy and muscular body and the veins of his strong forearms clearly visible. His hands are clutching the white wall, his upper body is tensely leaning forward, and his thick neck is extended. The neck supports a face in profile whose eyes are intently peering towards the right side of the painting, clearly beyond a point visible in the painting itself. The pro file of the face has strong, clear-cut features, clean-shaven, with very little hair on the head. Ali in all, the physiognomy is characteristic for the artist, as this shape of head and facial features are also common to more recent works of his. Light is shining onto the white wall, as well as onto the torso and face of the intent man-the distribution of shadow and light makes it clear that the light's source comes from the direction of the man's gaze, that is, from a source outside the picture which is therefore invisible to the spectator. The light is quite strong, as the man has to frown to protect his eyes, such that they are hardly visible. On the other hand, the light is not so strong that he cannot bear it at all and must divert his gaze. The tense posture of the entire body as far as it is visible, in combination with the perched head and the eyes intently fixed on an invisible horizon, suggests an inner attitude of the highest mental concentration. The abstract, mathematical design of the picture seems to signal that this is the archetypical or "formulaic," indeed permanent situation of the person depicted, possibly representative of the situation of all human beings. The nakedness of the body, presenting the primeval human state, adds to this timeless, universal impression These features correspond strongly, of course, to Augustine's self-characterization in the Confessions of himself as a soul constantly searching for truth, something that he, and many of his readers since, perceived to be the fundamental situation of every believer. Moreover, the person in the painting is alone. Thus, if we take this man as a human archetype, then the human person is here characterized as an individual, possibly the ultimate individual, completely dependent on him or herself and not under someone else's visible authority. One could even surmise that, perhaps, this person does not care about authority over others either. In a way, the figure represents utmost autonomy while, at the same time, the striving to pursue something out of visible reach. Thus, human autonomy is defined as something that, by necessity, has to relate to an entity beyond its reach; this could be, for instance, one's own true and ultimate goal, universal understanding, or personal salvation. The visual medium reflects this in a mis-en-abime, as the situation of the painter and the spectator is exactly the same, wrestling with the inscribed limits of the medium which by necessity always points at something it cannot fully depict. The spectator cannot but engage with this intense depiction in wondering whether this is the moment before conversion or exactly the moment when it took place. The striking contrast between severe physical tension and the almost trance-like projection of the gaze into the world outside the painting, and presumably also beyond the spectator, makes this a remarkable and original achievement in visualizing the mental event of conversion, one that is notoriously difficult to represent. Tradition normally elects the garden scene with the tolle lege mantra as the best solution to this conundrum. De Santis has chosen a more modern approach, with no direct reference to anything supernatural, let alone angels or God, which also allows for non-Christian interpretations of or meditations on the artifact. At the same time he renders the surroundings entirely abstract, which hints in an unobtrusive way at the internal, timeless and universal quality of the depicted event. His rendering reminds one of the sculpture of The Thinker (1879-89) by Auguste Rodin. The Thinker also appears to make the effort of thinking visible, not only through features, such as his knitted brow, his distended nostrils and compressed lips, but with every muscle of his arms, back, and legs, with his clenched fist and gripping toes. Also like de Santis' Augustine, The Thinker is male, naked, and displays a muscular anatomy, thereby also externalizing mental concentration through physical tension. But in telling contrast, Rodin's sculpture is turned towards itself, reflecting inwardly and seeking its point of reference within its own physical form, whereas de Santis' Augustine while still very much present in his physicality, transcends himself and, to a degree, even the painting and its spectator.
Conclusions: What's in a Visual Medium?
In our case the nature of transmediality is illuminating in so far as Augustine, recognized as an outstanding figure, is memorialized by being transferred into painting. The advantage is also clear: immediate visual effect, characterization of the human personality, highlighting what one finds important in him. The spectator requires at least a minimal background to grasp the message which is constructed by the artefacts' interaction with existing iconographic tradition. But this still leaves some questions open. For instance, in the case of the Lateran fresco, is it Augustine who becomes a pagan-style intellectual with a Christian overlay, or is it indeed the case that a pagan intellectual becomes "Augustinified"? Perhaps the point may be both, revealing the distinctive quality or potential in the act of representation. Likewise, with Vittore Carpaccio's famous depiction of Augustine in his study - is Augustine here turned into a humanist or are all humanists subsumed under the rubric of the "super-humanist" Augustine? In the case of the Lateran fresco, it is the use of intermediality which helps us answer these questions; the inscription in the form of an elegiac couplet serves as an identifier and marker. This is certainly also true for modern scholarship on the work which to a considerable degree has relied on this inscription in identifying the intellectual persona with Augustine. Life cycles are more complex and simpler at the same time, due to the amount of visualized information that they offer. Accordingly, their focus can vary: (i) they focus on the institution of an "Augustinian" Order like the Hermits, "documenting" their origin as going back to Augustine; (ii) they convey the Order's teaching program; (iii) they popularize a body of orthodox knowledge; (iv) they advocate rituals of the Church and what they may mean for an individual; (v) they proclaim the efficacy and immediacy of a spiritual legacy. Generally, the symbolic, the immediate, and the universal are central. Accordingly, intermediality is less important and appears in the form of scant inscriptions, but occasionally Latin or bilingual inscriptions are present in order to popularize or moralize the depicted episodes; sometimes they can have an important function that even seems to run counter to the intent of the images. In the case of our contemporary painting, full understanding is only possible if one knows the Confessions as its reference text, as well as at least the broad outlines of a tradition that interprets the Confessions as portraying Augustine as a truth-searching individual with a propensity towards the transcendent and existential. In addition, other elements of Augustine's thinking are in accord with the painting. Ultimately, the successful meditation on and understanding of the painting's message are only guaranteed through external markers, such as the context of the first exhibition or the title of the painting, in addition to a certain background knowledge of Augustine's thought, while at the same ti me allowing universal, also non-Christian reflections. In terms of authority all these visualizations serve to underline the charismatic authority of Augustine, which in return also benefits the sponsors of the artifacts in question. People not yet familiar with this authority become initiated, and thus his authority is reaffirmed. Visual representation has an enormous potential for impacting on the viewer through sensual perception that complements, enhances, interrogates, or even contradicts the written medium they have as their basis. The visual arts guarantee immediacy, actuality, and relevance for the present; they can universalize, symbolize, "existentialize," modernize, and serve to realize a connection to the august and remote past. Moreover, art usurps, puts the image between-in our case-Augustine as a textual thinker and the spectator, suggesting an authenticity which does not exist in relation to the historicity of the depicted object, but does well exist in relation to the viewers and what they make of the visualization. Viewer response theory during the last two decades has re-emphasized the importance or micro- and macro-surroundings of the viewing conditions in this intricate process. There are of course also limits to the possibilities of visualizing Augustinian concepts, especially as Augustine himself was noteworthy for his lack of interest in the visual. But such considerations have never stopped his reception.
InOpera 2010.
Cecilia Renzi.
La sua ricerca artistica è relazione continua tra l'uomo e il suo spazio, un percorso che nel tempo si è formalizzato nell'essenzialità della materia pittorica, inducendo in trasparenze che preludono all'apertura di spazi vuoti dove il soggetto si manifesta quasi emergendo plasticamente rispetto allo sfondo. Nell'opera presentata, dedicata a Padre Matteo Ricci, lo spazio lasciato vuoto e riempito solo cromaticamente di luminoso azzurro è preponderante rispetto alle aree occupate dal motivo plastico. Tale valorizzazione del vuoto rinvia alla concezione di fondo del buddhismo e dal taoismo, secondo cui la liberazione della mente (mushin) è uno dei fattori fondamentali nel processo di realizzazione spirituale. Il vuoto orientale è reale, concreto, da non confondersi quindi con l'inesistenza; si tratta di uno spazio autonomo, affrancato, apparentemente incoerente. Una cavità ricolma di nulla, ma pronta e disponibile a ricevere quanto a donare. Quando i pensieri si diradano o il loro flusso rallenta sopraggiunge una pausa, una discontinuità e un'ordine non immediatamente riconoscibile per la mente umana, ordine che potremmo definire, con Kandinsky il "suono interno", l'"anima della forma". Solo quando ci saremmo distaccati dalle cose e poi nutriti di silenzio potremmo cogliere il movimento della quiete e l'armonia del tutto relazionandoci in modo autentico con l'altro.
Mostre di Dipinti Unici
Il nostro servizio di esposizioni di dipinti offre un'esperienza unica e coinvolgente per gli amanti dell'arte. Situata in una galleria accogliente e moderna, la nostra esposizione mette in luce opere di artisti emergenti e affermati, creando un dialogo tra tradizione e innovazione. Ogni dipinto è accuratamente selezionato per garantire qualità e diversità stilistica.
Opere Pittoriche Pubblicate Online
Il nostro servizio di pubblicazioni nella categoria dipinti offre un'opportunità unica per artisti emergenti e affermati di esporre le loro opere a un pubblico più vasto. Offriamo una piattaforma dedicata per presentare i tuoi lavori in modo professionale, con attenzione ai dettagli e alla qualità delle immagini.