Monday, April 1, 2013

Circular Pride


2/22/13: Circular Pride



Patriotic Celebration, Carlo Carra

                This piece when taken in context to the time that it was painted means so much more to the viewer.  Painted in 1914, Patriotic Celebration was not only painted on the brink of World War I, but also celebrating the Italian painter’s history and culture.  Italian flags, lines, and phrases in the painting are all subtle ways in which the artist praises his country and his country’s army.  He employs many “free words”, that are meant to inspire thought and provoke thought with their associated meanings.  At that time, the country would be commemorating the long reign of Giovanni Giolitti, the longest ruling ruler the country had ever seen (later replace by Mussolini).  The painting is a celebration of power, pride and innovation.  On the cuspid of a great world war, paintings of political projection would be celebrated by a nation.  The painting has a circular pattern, representing wheels, propellers, turbines, and other symbols of progress and technology.  In a way, he has symbolically mimicked Sullivan’s “Form follows Function” by designing a painting’s shape to build upon his original ideas.

A Bio on Giolitti:


A bit about Italian Futurism (Style Carra used):


 

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