Domenico Purificato - Card Players

Purificato's subjects are always inspired by a neorealism aimed at the working classes. Social themes in art began to gain prominence towards the mid-19th century, coinciding with the spread of social questions in various European societies. The work of painters such as Millet and Daumier, for example, favored subjects related to life in the fields, factory work, or strikes. In Italy, among the first painters to engage deeply with social themes were Pellizza da Volpedo and, in the contemporary era, Renato Guttuso.

In this painting, Domenico Purificato reaffirms his interest in the world of the lower classes, interpreting his art almost as an ethnographic study of customs and traditions, while also foregrounding the existential values ​​of that world of humble people. In this work, in particular, we see the depiction of an episode of everyday life, a simple game of cards. But the staging is typical of Purificato; he remains committed to a figurative language, yet exerts anti-naturalistic constraints to heighten the work's expressiveness. This begins with the composition, in which the subjects are compressed into the foreground and crowd the entire space. Furthermore, the facial features are generic, intended more to create character masks than true physiognomies. Technically, this work features a very rapid hatching that enhances the subjects' volumes and the interplay of light and shadow.

Domenico Purificato was born in Fondi in 1915 and died in Rome in 1984. His artistic career began in Rome in 1936, coinciding with his time as editor of the magazine "Cinema." He participated in six Rome Quadrennials and four Venice Biennials. He was also director of the Brera Academy until 1980. His style is a neorealism inspired by the working classes. He also collaborated with the director De Sanctis.

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