Bruno Cassinari - The Dawn

The representation of animals in art has ancient origins, dating back to prehistoric cave paintings. For religious reasons, various types of animals appear in the records of several ancient civilizations. It is especially during the Middle Ages, within the International Gothic style, that depictions of animals become widespread as true-to-life portraits, both in finished works and in sketchbooks. The presence of animals as subjects in art will remain constant up to the contemporary era. In particular, the rooster has enjoyed great popularity among contemporary artists. We may recall, for example, the many variations found in the work of Antonio Ligabue.

The print is a perfect example of the artistic language of the Piacenza-born artist Bruno Cassinari when he tackles the subject of the rooster. First of all, he starts from a synthesis of forms that is undoubtedly a product of the Expressionist avant-garde. The volumes of the rooster are reduced to the essentials and constructed on a two-dimensional surface. The subject comes to life through the absolute vitality of the incised line, nervous and elusive, which expresses the animal's restlessness and its sudden, unpredictable dynamism. The body of the rooster, due to the complexity of its design, moves within a complex, non-uniform space. This is precisely the expressive power of Bruno Cassinari's artistic approach: knowing how to enrich the image with meaning and life even while reducing form and volume.

Bruno Cassinari, Piacenza 1912 – Milan 1992. He first trained at the Art School of Piacenza and later at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts. In 1939, he joined the Corrente group alongside Guttuso, Migneco, Vedova, Birolli, Treccani, and Morlotti, and in 1941 Elio Vittorini recognized his talent and organized his first solo exhibition. All his work is characterized by an Expressionist synthesis combined with a reflection on Cubist deconstruction. In 1949, he moved to Antibes, where he met Pablo Picasso, Chagall, Matisse, and Braque.

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