Romano Mussolini - Clown with fez

The clown is an extremely popular subject among genre painters of the 1970s and 1980s. Many artists have dedicated much of their careers to depicting this theme, with Romano Mussolini being a prime example. Usually, the interpretation of this subject is similar for all the artists who tackle it: the clown appears with his makeup designed to evoke laughter and merriment, but instead shows a melancholy expression. This contrast is intended to create an empathetic dialogue with the viewer. The subject of the clown was also favored by many painters for another formal reason. Indeed, his striking makeup and multicolored clothes offer painters a pretext to create original color harmonies.

The clown is one of Romano Mussolini's favorite subjects, always interpreted with his figurative technique characterized by expressionistic tendencies. In this case, however, we notice a more detailed description, not only in the facial features but also in the clothing, with the striking detail of the fez, which gives this particular work a realistic connotation that is quite unusual for Romano Mussolini. As for the detailed description of the face, the artist works with a very bold black line, highlighting the contours with a few essential strokes. Emphasis is placed, as in all his other works on the same theme, on the large eyes full of light and the bright red of the mouth. In the details of the hair, Romano Mussolini returns to a faster pictorial style, creating a light and airy mass moved by the wind. The entire color palette is in line with Mussolini's expressionistic tendencies, with a strong emotional value of the colors compared to natural truth. The space of the works is always decontextualized to make the subject more empathetic.

Romano Mussolini was born in Forlì in 1927 and passed away in Rome in 2006. An essentially figurative painter who dedicated himself above all to genre subjects such as clowns, horses, or landscapes. His compositions show a simplicity of lines and color. His passion for painting was born as early as 1945 in Naples when, under the guidance of the painters Corrura and Terraccini, he immediately achieved good results. Romano Mussolini, in addition to his pictorial production, was also famous as a jazz musician and composer.

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