Clemente Tafuri (salerno 1903-genoa 1971) – “african Palmist”, First Half Of The 20th Century.

Clemente Tafuri (Salerno 1903-Genoa 1971) – “African Palmist”, first half of the 20th century.

Oil on panel.
90 x 80 cm.
Signed upper right.

In this visually striking work, a half-length female figure emerges from Clemente Tafuri's forceful brushstrokes. The woman, with one arm crossed at her side and her gaze wandering downward, has a thoughtful and concentrated attitude. The interior is enveloped in a reddish darkness, which makes the dense colors on the canvas shine. The female subject, with its orientalist and colonial iconography, is a frequent subject for the painter. Tafuri's sharp and mischievous realism embodies a comely woman with an exotic allure. The loose white dress, in stark contrast with the woman's complexion, highlights her slender neck and décolleté, left exposed by her long hair, gathered behind her back. A bracelet, an earring, and a necklace glisten on bare skin, accessories that hint at the woman's probable magical profession.

Biography

Clemente Tafuri was born in Salerno in 1903. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples under the guidance of an elderly Vincenzo Migliaro, a renowned exponent of the Neapolitan school. Tafuri, a follower of Antonio Mancini, worked between the two world wars; he is one of the last representatives of Neapolitan verism in the late 19th century.

He extensively studied 17th-century Naples, the works of Caravaggio, and the innovative use of chiaroscuro contrasts and light. From the contemporary Neapolitan verism school, he borrowed a lively touch, attentive to realism. He revisited Caravaggism through a verism lens, imbuing his paintings with a material luminosity. His painting, animated and chiaroscuro, is predominantly figurative, animated by an exuberant chromaticism.

In 1933, he established himself on the art scene by appearing at the Salerno Art Exhibition. Between the 1940s and 1950s, he worked as an illustrator for the "Domenica del Corriere" and became famous as an illustrator and poster designer. Many of his illustrations were dedicated to colonial conquests, later transformed into postcards for the Boeri publishing house. Clemente Tafuri, a great interpreter of his time and the 20th century, died in Genoa in 1971.