GIUSEPPE PELLIZZA DA VOLPEDO AND THE FOURTH ESTATE

The exhibition - curated by Aurora Scotti Tosini - is dedicated to The Fourth Estate by Pellizza da Volpedo (1899-1901) one of the works that most indelibly marked the 20th century, not only from an artistic perspective, but also from a viewpoint of society and communication.

The exhibition intends to focus on the complexity of the values and meanings of a painting which is a symbol of the twentieth century, such as The Fourth Estate. This painting is the result of an ongoing cultural and social commitment and a progressive refinement of the painting technique of Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo, accrued during a decade from the late nineteenth century and the dawn of the new century. The Fourth Estate by Pellizza da Volpedo (1899 – 1901) is one of the works that most indelibly marked the 20th century, not only from an artistic perspective, but also from a viewpoint of society and communication. The painting is the result of a long planning procedure characterized by two fundamental stages: Ambassadors of Hunger (1892) and Fiumana (Stream of People, 1895 – 96). The protracted process made the artist aware of his intellectual mission and the need to construct an articulated philosophical and scientific culture. Each phase corresponded to a distinctive compositional and technical experiment, whose development can be traced through the exhibition’s three sections with the display of sketches, preparatory drawings and X-ray analyses.