Virginio Bianchi - Still Life with Violin and Book

The "Still Life" genre emerged in the early 17th century. It consisted of compositions of inanimate subjects, most often flowers or fruit. While initially it was an opportunity for painters to experiment with naturalistic or photographic reproductions of reality, with contemporary art, the "Still Life" also became a way of interpreting reality. Indeed, as happened, for example, in the Cubist avant-garde or in Giorgio Morandi, the in-depth exploration of objects was aimed at a conceptual representation, taken beyond the mere sensory aspect.

The work highlights Virginio Bianchi's post-Impressionist maturity. The composition is entirely compressed in the foreground, although a certain spatial depth can be perceived. The painter's aim is not to capture the sensory aspect of the subject, but to capture its very essence, its substance. To this end, the brushstrokes, rich in texture, intervene, which, despite the essentiality of the representation, flesh out the objects, breaking them down into different planes, recording the vibrations of light and life within them. The sensory aspect, therefore, is completely transcended in a complex conception of pictorial practice in which the artist's gestures themselves play a fundamental role. Chromatically, the entire surface of the work is blended with a balanced palette, consistent with a unified atmosphere.

Virginio Bianchi (Massarosa 1899 – 1970). After graduating in 1921 from the Institute of Fine Arts in Lucca, where he attended courses under Alceste Campriani, he completed his training in Rome. In 1942 he was hired as a cartoonist at the Beta Film production company in Florence. During the Second World War, the installation of German troops in Massarosa forced Bianchi to flee with his family and hide first in Montigiano, then in Fibbialla. After the war, the Bianchis and their daughter returned home, where Virginio decided to retire to private life. In the mid-1950s, the artist's friends, including Alfredo Catarsini, Renato Santini, Elpidio Jenco, Carlo Pellegrini, Felice Del Beccaro, and Bruno Fattori, convinced him to break his isolation and return to social life. Although afflicted by crippling arthritis, he did not abandon his work as a painter, continuing to receive acclaim from the public and critics. His painting is classified as Post-Impressionist.

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