Rolando Castellani - The Clown

The clown was an extremely popular subject among genre painters in the 1970s and 1980s. Many artists dedicated much of their careers to depicting this theme, with Romano Mussolini being a prime example. Generally, artists who tackled this subject interpreted it in a similar way: the clown appears in makeup designed to evoke laughter and amusement, yet wears a melancholy expression. This contrast is intended to create an empathetic dialogue with the viewer. The clown was also favored by many painters for another reason of a formal nature. Indeed, his striking makeup and multicolored clothing provided painters with an opportunity to create original color harmonies.

This interpretation of the clown theme by the artist Rolando Castellani reflects the artistic language of the Umbrian painter, who always maintained a balance between restless expressionism and pop art. The subject is depicted through a synthesis aimed at emphasizing the character's expressiveness, almost in a caricatured manner. Formally, this is expressed through the artist's excellent technique in bringing to life a composition rich in concentric lines that define the facial features. The application of color, on the other hand, with the use of extremely bright tones and electric hues, reveals Rolando Castellani's pop sensibility, expressed through the influence of comic book aesthetics and advertising language on his pictorial work.

Rolando Castellani is an artist from Ellera Umbra. A leading figure in a figurative yet predominantly expressionist body of work, he has held several exhibitions both in Italy and abroad (New York, Sydney, Perth, Tehran, Lausanne, Zurich, London, Stockholm). He is a member of the “G. Marconi” Academy in Rome and the “Free World International Academy” in the United States of America. He has received the Gold Medal of the President of the Republic.

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