Tribute to Dudovich
This artwork takes inspiration from Marcello Dudovich, one of the great protagonists of the Italian manifesto. An extraordinary figure of poster designer and illustrator, his artistic adventure unfolds over more than half a century, starting from the ateliers of his city - he was born in Trieste on 21 March 1878 and died in Milan on 31 March 1962, just sixty years ago - until to make the extroverted and lively boy the citizen of the world who with his irresistible female figures signs an era, a way of life, a style, subtracting them forever in the face of time.
The manifest from which the inspiration comes is the one of "Mele & C. from Naples", made between 1912-1913, where the artist would like to capture the importance of beautiful clothes and their details. This procedure was learned from his teaching master Leopoldo Metlikovitz.
The work of the Trieste native is remembered above all for having showcased the comforts of the Italian bourgeoisie in the Belle Époque period: the elegance, the worldliness, the horse races, the elegant clothes and above all the femininity of high-ranking women. Dudovich begins a collaboration as a designer for the magazine La Donna, illustrating it as an example of refinement and elegance.
The artist immortalizes women lying on soft sofas or in alcoves with their large hats, umbrellas, fans and jewels. The famous protagonists of his stories on the program are the bathers. During the twenty years of fascism, female emancipation experienced a regression: the regime imposed male clothing on working women, with the aim of guaranteeing greater freedom of movement, but above all to align aesthetics and behavior with military style. As a result, clothes and dresses that no longer highlight the lines of the body but, on the contrary, that adapt to them naturally are becoming depopulated. By setting the parameters that will make up the new posters, the regime will lead Dudovich, against his will, to a strong change in his female models.
The new production of posters will lose the refined female subject to make room for the virility of the male figure, with muscular bodies and tense poses which will be the new propaganda images of the fascist era. He participated in the Venice International Art Exhibition of 1920 and 1922 with the oil painting Mrs. Dalla Veletta: the title of the work derives from the hat that the woman wears on her head and from which a veil descends.
Stones used: Lapislazzuli, Yellow Magnesite, Belgium Black Marble.
Year of composition: 2023
Size: cm 14x19
Artist: Leonardo Scarpelli
An original and authentic hand-made artwork created whith the antique technique of Commesso Fiorentino which is unique for Florence.
Commesso Fiorentino was born with Medici family, one of the most important families in Florence, in the second half of 1500.
The research of the stones is made by the mosaicist that must be able to choose from a rich and wide range of shades and veins: for this reason the artists personally search and collect the stones retracing the paths of the Medici researchers.
The processing starts by drawing the subject on adhesive paper, that is then cut into small tamplates that will be attached to the variegated shades of the stones following the visual instinct, the innate gift of the artist and his perfect knowledge of the materials. The shape of the little piece will be cut by hand with a chestnut, cherry or hazelnut wood bow and an iron wire that flows with abrasive powder and water. It creates a very precise and inclined cut to form the essential spaces to accommodate the glue, made by artisans with beeswax and pine tree resin. The different stones are previously glued onto a slate surface which acts as a support during the cutting and filing phase. The various pieces which form the composition are adjusted in shape with diamond files, glued together so that the joints are invisible, flattened and finally polished in order to create a perfect decorative harmony showing the colors of nature in all their radiance.