Casorati undisputed artist of the Italian twentieth century between silences and assonances. The exhibition from Tornabuoni Arte in Milan – Carlo Franza’s blog

Tornabuoni Arte presented the exhibition Casorati. Silence and assonancesinaugurated on Tuesday 6 May 2025, at 5.30 pm, in its headquarters of Milanin via Fatebenefratelli 34/36. This exhibition represents a precious opportunity to go into the artistic universe of Felice Casorati (1883-1963), one of the undisputed protagonists of the Italian twentieth century. His works will dialogue with those of other artists of the last century, creating a fascinating intertwining of atmospheres, suggestions and shared issues.

Felice Casorati has gone through several phases during his career: from his initial adhesion to naturalism, he gradually embraced symbolism, and then landed on magical realism. His art, influenced by masters such as Gustav Klimt and Piero della Francesca, stands out for a rigorous geometry and an extraordinary formal clarity. His paintings are characterized by unusual perspectives and meticulous attention to detail, transmitting a sense of unreality and introspection.

Tornabuoni Arte wanted to create this exhibition in conjunction with the great anthological dedicated to the artist in progress at the Palazzo Reale, always in Milan, to which he is ideally linked.

Will be exposed Eleven paintings of the most iconic of Felice Casoratidefined as the painter of silence and mystery, perfect examples of his incredible ability to capture moments of quiet and reflection, of great intimacy and introspection. In the exhibition itinerary they will confront each other with the paintings of other artists, creating “assonances” through suggestions, scenarios and common thematic areas. For example, the morning (maternity) and the ironers, both made by Casorati in 1954, will find correspondence with the female figures (1952), stylized and monumental, of Massimo Campiglicreating a dialogue on family love, on gestures, on motherhood, on the ability to grasp moments of intimate and domestic relationships, made of suspended atmospheres.

Study for Giovinetta (1922) of Casorati will find an interlocutor in Figures in red (1957 ca.) of Mario Sironireturning to explore in particular the theme of silence, a tangible and central element in the work of the artist that Sironi has also explored in different works, as a means of expressing the tragic condition of contemporary man.

The wait will be represented by Woman with cards (on the background of fields) (1954) of Casorati, in dialogue with The troubadour (1968) by Giorgio De Chirico, famous for his painting Metaphysics that combines classic elements with enigmatic atmospheres.

Casorati used the mask in his paintings, linking it to the concept of identity and mystery, ambiguity and transformation. And in relation to this issue, Gesso head with the red drape (1952) of Casorati will be combined with two works of Gino Severiniprominent member of the futurist movement, Dead nature with ruins, pigeons and statue (1931) e The balcony (La Fenêtre) (ca.). It will follow, behind the scenes, title of the painting of Casorati, made in 1929, which will be related to a work by Mario Sironi again, again, Composition (the idol) (1958 ca.).

A group of paintings will concern the representation of the sea, explored through Boats on the beach (1930-32) of Casorati, flanked by Navy (1941) e Lake landscape (1943) of Carlo Carràtogether with Marine idyll (1944) of Alberto Savinio and Landscape (1931) of René Parescean artist who has been able to combine cubist influences with the Italian tradition.

In the section dedicated to dead nature, we find René Paresce with a dead nature of 1922, which, with the dead nature (1934) by Giorgio De Chirico and Peaches and Vase (1952) of Ardengo Sofficiit will go to dialogue with a dead nature (apples and flutes) (1954) or fruit with lemons and eggs (1959) of Casorati, where the balance between the vibrant tones and the arrangement of the elements, invites us to reflect on the space that surrounds us. In a downtime dead nature, which confirms the artist’s ability to create, in these combinations of simple and daily objects, a palpable silence, the fruitful of the fields (1955) – example of how, once again, casorate uses bright colors and a balanced composition to create a sense of serenity and introspection – he will respond to a dead nature in the landscape with grapes, apples and pear (1950 ca.) by Giorgio De Chirico) and to be dead with bunches of grapes, pears and glass (1919) by Gino Severini.

Finally, in the section dedicated to the nude, Naked on the landscape (1951), chosen as the image of the exhibition, where Casorati investigates the beauty of the human body with a sensitivity that goes beyond the simple visual representation, will be approached to Naked female (1923 ca.) by Giorgio De Chirico and “Naked back“(1930) of Happy hull.

Exposure Silence and assonancescreating this dialectical path between the works of Felice Casorati and those of other important protagonists of the twentieth century, wants to offer a more complete vision, as well as the creative universe of Casorati, of the affinities and influences that characterized the artistic panorama of the last century. The exhibition will remain open until 29 June 2025.

Carlo Franza