Gregorio Sciltian - The Veiled One

The human figure has always been at the center of artistic research. Since the classical age, the naturalistic rendering of human anatomy has been a primary goal of painters and sculptors throughout history. The representation of the nude is the ultimate expression of this aspiration, pervasive across all eras and stylistic trends. Indeed, in addition to the naturalistic interpretations of the Renaissance and various classicisms, which aimed for a truthful and detailed representation of the human body, the nude has also been a central figure in the new aesthetic concepts brought about by the historical avant-garde, such as Cubism, Expressionism, and Surrealism.

Gregorio Sciltian's style focuses heavily on exalting the plastic qualities of objects. The painter enhances volumes, emphasizes them with drawing, and highlights them with even lighting throughout the composition. In this way, the surfaces appear to be made of some precious, shiny material. Precisely for the purpose of fully exalting plasticity, Sciltian eliminates any pictorial effect, achieving a style that can be described as hyperrealist, in which, however, the study of Caravaggism and Flemish painters also plays a fundamental role.

Gregorio Sciltian, Italianized for Grigoriy Ivanovich Shiltyan (Rostov, 1900 – Rome, 1985), was an Armenian painter. In 1919, following the October Revolution, he left Russia and settled in Constantinople. His style took shape in the 1920s, when he returned to classical figuration, studying the works of the Italian Renaissance at the Academy and in the museums of Vienna. In 1923, he moved to Italy; he opened a studio in Rome and participated in the Second Rome Biennale in 1925. Roberto Longhi presented his solo exhibition at the Bragaglia art house. The critic emphasizes the distinctiveness of a painting style that revisits the Caravaggesque and Flemish traditions with a realism of impressive photographic fidelity: a lenticular perfection achieved with a compact palette and a technique borrowed from ancient painting.

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