Painting By Giovanni Muzzioli (modena 1854-1894), "the Sword Dance"
Giovanni Muzzioli (Modena, February 10, 1854 – Modena, August 5, 1894), "The Sword Dance", second half of the 19th century.
Oil on canvas, 75 x 125 cm.
Signed on the right "G. Muzzioli Firenze 1878"
Giovanni Muzzioli, a painter from Modena, trained at the Academy of Fine Arts in Modena and completed his studies in Rome and Florence. In Rome, where he lived from 1873, he researched classical antiquity and came into contact with genre painting in the antiquity style, inspired by the wall paintings unearthed in Pompeii and the surrounding area. Furthermore, in 1878 he had the opportunity to delve deeper into the subject and visited the Paris Exposition, where he saw the works of Lawrence Alma-Tadema, a Dutch artist who became the leading exponent of a genre that was very successful in the second half of the 19th century: Neo-Pompeian painting. This movement favored the depiction of subjects from the classical world and scenes set in ancient times.
"The Sword Dance," or "Cubisteteira," is part of the Neo-Pompeian painting genre. The setting is inspired by Greco-Roman antiquity: the scene takes place on a terrace overlooking the rest of the city. In the center is a dance scene: the dancer, known as a cubisteteira, is engaged in this dance among swords stuck in the ground, while another girl in front of her plays a double flute. On the right are spectators intent on observing the game. All the figures are portrayed in ancient, Roman-style clothing. On the left, next to the girl playing the flute, is a fountain surrounded by vegetation.
In this work, Muzzioli presents a moment of everyday life: he looks to the ancient world, not to illustrious figures, but rather to ordinary people. He seeks a truer vision of the depicted reality and the subjects portrayed, so much so that the landscape depicted may suggest inspiration from real places, and the figures themselves also hark back to Muzzioli's observation of ordinary people of his time.
In addition to this specific painting, there is another version preserved in Modena in the collection of the Provincial Art Collection (exhibition catalog "Il vero, la mostra e la finzione," Modena 2009-2010, p. 57, plate 12). In this version, the same characters and the same dance scene are retained, but instead of the fountain on the left, a column covered with a climbing plant is depicted.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: exhibition catalog Giovanni Muzzioli. Truth, History, and Fiction, G. Martinelli Braglia, P. Nicholls, L. Rivi (eds.), Turin, 2009.
Oil on canvas, 75 x 125 cm.
Signed on the right "G. Muzzioli Firenze 1878"
Giovanni Muzzioli, a painter from Modena, trained at the Academy of Fine Arts in Modena and completed his studies in Rome and Florence. In Rome, where he lived from 1873, he researched classical antiquity and came into contact with genre painting in the antiquity style, inspired by the wall paintings unearthed in Pompeii and the surrounding area. Furthermore, in 1878 he had the opportunity to delve deeper into the subject and visited the Paris Exposition, where he saw the works of Lawrence Alma-Tadema, a Dutch artist who became the leading exponent of a genre that was very successful in the second half of the 19th century: Neo-Pompeian painting. This movement favored the depiction of subjects from the classical world and scenes set in ancient times.
"The Sword Dance," or "Cubisteteira," is part of the Neo-Pompeian painting genre. The setting is inspired by Greco-Roman antiquity: the scene takes place on a terrace overlooking the rest of the city. In the center is a dance scene: the dancer, known as a cubisteteira, is engaged in this dance among swords stuck in the ground, while another girl in front of her plays a double flute. On the right are spectators intent on observing the game. All the figures are portrayed in ancient, Roman-style clothing. On the left, next to the girl playing the flute, is a fountain surrounded by vegetation.
In this work, Muzzioli presents a moment of everyday life: he looks to the ancient world, not to illustrious figures, but rather to ordinary people. He seeks a truer vision of the depicted reality and the subjects portrayed, so much so that the landscape depicted may suggest inspiration from real places, and the figures themselves also hark back to Muzzioli's observation of ordinary people of his time.
In addition to this specific painting, there is another version preserved in Modena in the collection of the Provincial Art Collection (exhibition catalog "Il vero, la mostra e la finzione," Modena 2009-2010, p. 57, plate 12). In this version, the same characters and the same dance scene are retained, but instead of the fountain on the left, a column covered with a climbing plant is depicted.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: exhibition catalog Giovanni Muzzioli. Truth, History, and Fiction, G. Martinelli Braglia, P. Nicholls, L. Rivi (eds.), Turin, 2009.
35 000 €
Period: 19th century
Style: Napoleon 3rd
Condition: Excellent condition
Material: Oil painting
Width: 125
Height: 75
Reference (ID): 1688373
Availability: In stock
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