Luigi Del Sal - The Jugglers

Since the 19th century, when painting began to explore various aspects of bourgeois life, the circus world has been a theme explored by various artists. With the development of Symbolist and Expressionist movements between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the figure of the acrobat, circus performer, or mask began to gain popularity, as it played a key role in the development of complex iconographies with hidden and mysterious meanings. Examples include the figures of artists and harlequins immortalized by Picasso during his "blue" and "rose" periods. During the 1970s and 1980s, it became a true genre, practiced by many painters, who focused their interest primarily on the figure of the clown.

This painting is a prime example of Luigi De Sal's research. The fundamental principle underlying De Sal's work is, first and foremost, a balance between the instinctive nature of a gestural technique and an interpretative approach rooted, albeit minimal, in figuration. This creates a distinctive composition whose bizarre and paradoxical spirit harks back to the Brutalism of Enrico Baj or Dubuffet. This influence is particularly strong in the large-format works, while in this mixed technique of drawing and watercolor, De Sal indulges in a more accentuated, almost narrative figuration, creating a scene with a grotesque and sarcastic quality.

Luigi Del Sal is an artist from Cesarolo (San Michele Tagliamento) born in 1928. Self-taught, with painting in his heart since he was a boy, after Milan he went to Paris for a couple of years, frequenting galleries and artists' bistros. He organized exhibitions around the world: Venice, Milan, Paris, Stockholm, Munich, Buenos Aires, and Washington, D.C. in the United States. His consecration as an art master, in vogue between the 1950s and 1970s both nationally and internationally, came in 1952 in Milan with a major exhibition. Luigi De Sal passed away in 2019.

The transaction takes place with maximum security for both the seller and the buyer. We take care of the conformity (provenance, authenticity, state of conservation) of the work and handle the shipping.
Returns are possible no later than 14 days after receiving the order.