Aleksandr Deineka: 3 weeks in Rome, 1935

Metaphysical Rome, shades of de Chirico.  Superb colors.

He was only in Rome for 3 weeks, 80 years ago (and the chances are good you've never heard of him), but out of that moment came some extraordinary images of the city.  His work reminds us of three of our favorite 20th century Italian painters: Pio Pullini, Renato Guttuso, and Giorgio de Chirico.




Aleksandr Deineka (1899-1969), painter, sculptor, illustrator, theorist, would come to be recognized by his homeland, the Soviet Union, as one of the nation's most distinguished artists, receiving the Lenin Prize in 1964 as a hero of Soviet socialism.

Foro Italico or, when Deineka was there, Foro Mussolini.

He was 36 when he arrived in Rome on April 12, 1935, and it took him by storm.  "My God what a city," he wrote.  "Beyond even Paris!  And I'm not referring to Michelangelo and the other greats of the past...here, one looks ahead!"

Deineka walked the streets tirelessly, enjoying the surprises the city offered, savoring the contrasts between old and new.  "There is an 'interessantissima architettura moderna,' severe and traditional; the [Foro Mussolini] is extraordinarily impressive for its
scale and layout."

Italian workers on bicycles

Walking about in the evening, he remarked that the Romans were "still in the street," not like New York, where there was activity only on Broadway.

It seems likely, though it can't be said for sure, that while in Rome Deineka found his way to the 2nd Quadriennale di Roma at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni, where he would have come into contact with some of the best Italian modern art, and with the dominant aesthetic of the Fascist state and era.  

With thanks to the 2011 exhibit catalog,
Aleksandr Deineka: Il maestro sovietico della modernità (Skira, 2011).
Bill

A bit of distortion captures the enormity, and emptiness, of the Piazza del Quirinale.  The building is the Scuderie (the stables of Palazzo Quirinale).  

Window Shopping in Rome: RST at Minerva Auctions

by Sonia Delaunay

Being fans of 20th-century Italian art, we were intrigued by an "asta", or auction, in the Centro.  Not having been to many (any?) art auctions, we were a bit intimidated by the thought of dropping in on an auction house.  But the quality of the works drove us to try it.

And so we found ourselves sitting on hard back chairs in rows of 8 or so, along with 2 dozen others, including some people bidding for those not present, who were seated at a table on the side, whispering away on their cell phones. It was somewhat surreal to watch the bidding on 20th-century artists in the gorgeous Palazzo Odescaldhi in Piazza SS. Apostoli, just up from Piazza Venezia.

A peak through the doorway
 at Minerva's auction in action

The auction house, Minerva Auctions, has a regular schedule of auctions, regular hours for viewing the works ahead of time, and a low-key approach to walk-ins.   We decided to get a number, which required only submitting an i.d.  And we didn't bid, but we thought hard about it, or at least I did.

We post Minerva Auctions at this time, because they have an auction at 4 p.m. on November 14 featuring 20th-century art. You can view the show ahead of time Saturday-Wednesday 10 a.m - 6 p.m., and the day of the auction 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.  The catalog is online.  The works are not solely Italian and come in all price ranges.  There's a small Sonia Delaunay, estimated at Euro 150-200; and a de Chirico lithograph at Euro 600-800.  We might be drawn to a Renato Guttuso lithograph at Euro 100-150. (See Frederika Randall's review of a Guttuso show earlier this year: http://romethesecondtime.blogspot.com/2013/01/renato-guttuso-frederika-randall.html.)

by Renato Guttuso

Of course, some of you may want to spring for a Picasso linocut estimated at  Euro 5,000-7,000.  Read the hand-out carefully for all the additional charges.




Scuola italiana, 19th century

Just being on Minerva's email list is fun and intriguing.  The show that follows this one, while not up our alley, will be up someone's - Art of the 19th Century, including furniture.  That catalog is online as well.

Dianne

An Artist's Life: Giorgio de Chirico's home in central Rome - home in Rome series 2

de Chirico on his terrace overlooking Piazza di Spagna

Giorgio de Chirico is without doubt Italy’s most famous 20th century artist. The style and movement he represents are referred to as “metaphysical.” And, if you have as much trouble with that as we do, we recommend you visit the to the Carlo Bilotti museum in the Villa Borghese park (#33 on our Rome the Second Time Top 40 list), AND de Chirico’s home.

De Chirico’s home is run as a museum but looks basically as he and his wife left it when he died in 1978, after living there 30 years. The place is so homey it looks completely bourgeois. One of our friends pointed out the worn leather chair parked opposite the TV – looks like he spent a lot of time there!

Visiting the artist’s home, which has his studio and many of his works, as well as inspirations for his work, is a treat. The location is easy – just off the Spanish Steps. But you must make a telephone reservation. Days and hours for tours are limited – usually a couple mornings a week - and the most recent information we have on cost was Euro 5. It’s worth the phone call, in our opinion

One of de Chirico's metaphysical paintings

It’s hard to explain de Chirico’s art, except to say that it is unique in many ways and embodies Italian figures from Roman times to the present. And we won’t even try to explain “metaphysical” as it’s used here. Just look at the paintings. You can always consult Wikipedia for more information on the artist, but we like better a blog on de Chirico that was inspired by the blogger’s visit to the home. You can also get some information from the de Chirico Foundation website, although it’s in process of being updated.

De Chirico’s home at Piazza di Spagna, 31,  is just around the corner from the Keats-Shelley museum, that is, the bedroom where Keats died. Quite a contrast – in wealth, centuries, and art. Try them both.

Dianne

Galeazzo Ciano's Remarkable Diaries

Galeazzo Ciano was Mussoini's son-in-law and Italian Foreign Minister from 1936 to 1943. He was executed in January, 1944. Ciano left us with his diaries, which he maintained from 1936 through 1943 (entries for 1938 and later are available in paperback: Simon Publications, 2001).

The diaries are a thoughtful, judicious commentary on Ciano's contacts with many of the protagonists of World War II, including Hitler, von Ribbentrop, Himmler and, of course, Mussolini, with whom he worked on a daily basis--the Duce at Palazzo Venezia, Ciano at Palazzo Chigi. The photo above, taken before the signing of the 1938 Munich Agreement, has Ciano at far right and, to his right, Mussolini and Hitler. Neville Chamberlain, the architect of what became known as "appeasement," is at left.

This isn't a "tabloid" diary--for example, Ciano's wife--Mussolini's daughter--seldom appears, and Ciano is appropriately consumed by the major developments of the day, including the war in Africa, the invasion of Greece, and developments on the Eastern front. But there are many revelations and observations of a personal nature, some of which I offer here.

March 10, 1939

"The Duce commented, 'The German people are a military people, not a warrior people. Give to the Germans a great deal of sausage, butter, beer, and a cheap car, and they will never want to have their stomachs pierced.'"

March 3, 1940

"I speak with the Duce about the eventual exportation of works of art. He is favorable, but I am not. He does not like works of art, and above all detests that period of history during which the greatest masterpieces were produced. I recall--he recalls it too--that he felt a sense of annoyance and physical fatigue unusual in him on the day he was obliged to accompany Hitler on a detailed visit of inspection to the Pitti Palace and to the Uffizi. "

May 28, 1941

"Mussolini inveighs against Roosevelt, saying that 'never in the course of history has a nation been guided by a paralytic. There have been bald kings, fat kings, handsome and even stupid kings, but never kings who, in order to go to the bathroom and the dinner table, had to be supported by other men.' I don't know whether that is historically exact...."

October 11, 1941

"The Italians, too, are pulling in their belts to the last hole: the one that the Italians call the 'foro Mussolini'--'the Mussolini hole.' [The Italian word foro means both forum and notch, or hole....]."

May 8, 1942

"Vidussoni [general secretary of the Fascist Party] wanted to close the golf courses. I questioned him, and he, who is very simple-minded and is never able to find a way out, answered candidly that he intended to do this because 'golf is an aristocractic sport'....I consider it a great mistake because nothing is gained and one does not even earn the gratitude of the masses, which are inconsistent and changeable as the sands."

August 2, 1942

"Edda [Ciano's wife] attacked me violently, accusing me of hating the Germans, saying that my hatred for the Germans is known everywhere, especially among the Germans themselves, who are saying that 'they are physically repulsive to me.'" That's Galeazzo and Edda, below.

August 7, 1942

"I spoke with Vidussoni [see above]....He said that he did not know who De Chirico was, because for two years he had been too occupied for read modern writers.'"

August 28, 1942

[After a visit to the Venice Biennale]: "....the Spanish pavilion is the best. We had two painters who are important: De Chirico and Sciltian." A Sciltian painting from the 1930s is at left.

October 16, 1942

From the Duce's entourage we learn that he may not be in a condition to receive [Reichsmarsal Hermann] Goering on Monday. In any event, he will have to receive him at home, and the Duce is somewhat embarrassed on account of the modesty of his living quarters [Villa Torlonia]."

Mussolini's home at Villa Torlonia is below right.


December 7, 1942

[Ciano speaks with the King of Italy, who recalls the advice of his grandfather, King Victor Emmanuel II]: "In speaking with people, one must say two things in order to be assured of a good reception, 'How beautiful your city is!' and 'How young you look!'"

December 19, 1942

"I believe that at heart Hitler is happy at being Hitler, since this permits him to talk all the time."

January 4, 1943

"The personal indifference of the Duce to personal possessions is moving. At home he owns only one good piece: a self-portrait by Mancini, which was a gift from the painter."

Bill

RST Top 40: #33. Carlo Bilotti Museum in Villa Borghese

We came across this gem of a museum accidentally one day - a year after its 2006 opening. It has a fascinating history and a small collection worth viewing.

So here's the story : Carlo Bilotti, big deal cosmetics guy, originally from Southern Italy but long a U.S. citizen and resident, goes to Rome's then Mayor, Walter Veltroni, known as a patron of the arts (and author of the introduction to Rome the Second Time) and they cut a deal - Bilotti contributes his collection, and Veltroni kicks a bunch of government workers out of a long-neglected building in the middle of Rome's largest and most famous park and restores it to house the collection. Bilotti died in late 2006, the year the museum opened.

Bilotti's collection features more than 20 works by Italy's premier artist of the 20th century, Giorgio de Chirico (de Chirico thought pretty highly of himself too), although some have carped Bilotti's are not the best de Chiricos. A de Chirico from from the collection is at right. The collection also has art by the famous U.S. artists Bilotti palled around with, including Warhol and Larry Rivers (some of them portraits of Bilotti and his family).

On its ground floor, the museum hosts excellent temporary exhibits, often of very large pieces of internationally known contemporary artists such as Damien Hirst and Jenny Saville. The New York Times' review of the museum's opening gives you the flavor.

The building is older than the park itself and served many purposes, including as an"orangery" - or "aranciera," beautifully restored after centuries of neglect and misuse (including bombardment during the French defense of the Pope in 1849). Picture at top is from the 18th century. You'll see signs in the Villa Borghese to "Aranciera" - that's it. The City of Rome's website on the museum has excellent background information in English, as well as opening hours, ticket information (you don't need a reservation) and directions.

So here you have it all - famous Italian paintings that will immerse you into 20th-Century Rome, top U.S. contemporary artists, and a fascinating building.

Of course, it's hard to be in the shadow of the incomparable Borghese Gallery itself - and Bilotti's museum is "due passi" (two steps) from the Galleria Borghese, which would be in anyone's Top 40, not their second top 40.... but once you've done the biggies, Museo Carlo Bilotti, we think, is definitely on the "second time" list.

Dianne