Attilio Pusterla - Self-portrait Scapigliatura

Portraiture is one of the most widespread artistic expressions, especially in painting, but also in sculpture, throughout the ages. Portraiture is, first and foremost, a description of the subject depicted, an attempt to capture their physiognomy and individual characteristics truthfully and naturally. With the progressive evolution of artistic research, the physiognomic description of the subject has also been accompanied by a psychological one. Therefore, over the centuries, portraiture has also become a means of introspective investigation of the subject, their character, and their state of mind. The processes of abstraction brought about by contemporary art have contributed to this type of investigation.

Attilio Pusterla's style is certainly in keeping with his time, updated with pictorial innovations, especially from France. His pictorial approach is purely realist, in the sense that he seeks to reproduce reality, both in his views and portraits, as he sees it, without any kind of filter or idealization. Starting from the composition, the cuts are not theatrical, but rather seek to capture reality objectively and, above all, instantaneously. For this reason, the brushstrokes are dynamic and synthetic, aimed at capturing the fleeting moment and conveying the complexity of human vision. Everything is executed, of course, relying on the tonal qualities of color, in a style that displays a strong impressionistic influence.

Attilio Pusterla was born in Milan in 1862 and died in Woodcliff, New York, in 1941. He trained at the Brera Academy in the late 1870s. From the very beginning, he turned to painting inspired by socially conscious subjects. He also worked as an illustrator for the socialist-leaning Milanese press. He failed to achieve great public success precisely because of his overly vocal denunciation of contemporary society. In 1898, he moved to New York.

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