Estate (Summertime) 1989 marble cm 96 x 140 x 66 courtesy Studio Copernico.
Francesco Messina, wonders of beauty: until February 27 on display in Vercelli
The retrospective “Francesco Messina. Prodigies of beauty “, open until February 27, is a true tribute to the artist, born in Linguaglossa, Catania in 1900 and died in Milan in 1995.
Messina had a very sharp occhio, both to look at the works of the past and to judge what he himself was doing.
“I have my roots in study of the ancients, I dissected the corpses of men and animals to master the grammar of forms. I drew thousands of nudes to discover the movements that determine the plastic architecture of a statue and that I dreamed would lead me to that formal music that I never delude myself to have ever reached. I have tasted almost all the subjects… to empathize with their molecular suggestions […], he wrote.
In fact, he ventured with different types of marble – from those of an immaculate white to those that incorporate variegated streaks or the presence of luminous crystals – and woods; he used clay, stone and bronze.
At the entrance to theARCA you are greeted by the marble “Bianca”, dedicated to his wife: the standing figure, almost hieratic, holds the drapery resting on the hips with his hands. In the wide nave of theformer church, which houses 80 works, large marbles, bronzes of dancers and among these meet Carla Fracci, Luciana Savignano and Aida Accolla, youngsters, sportsmen and animals.
Among the various portraits, the bronze, from 1946, which he portrays, is singular Lucio fontana. Expressive head and face, with attention to the smallest details: from the wrinkles of the wrinkled forehead to the mustache and the thoughtful attitude with which the great Italian-Argentine artist seems to question us.
The exhibition is closed by a section dedicated to horses, which remind us of the image of the great dying horse modeled in 1966 for the Palazzo della Rai in Rome.
The Archbishop’s Palace it houses about forty works of a sacred nature. The path begins with the bronze of 1934 “Job”, naked and kneeling and with the humble rope that encircles his hips. Among the many works, one of the bronze sketches of the large statue of Pius XII (located in San Pietro in Vaticano) and that of San Filippo Neri.
The visit to the Messina works ends in the churchyard offormer church of San Vittore, from which you can admire the suggestive “Estate”: the marble, from 1989, depicts a very delicate and beautiful naked girl, her hair in a ponytail, her provocative body almost symbolizing the transition from adolescence to maturity.
Multifaceted personality, cultured artist, Messina had a constant interest in poetry and literature, lived in the presence of some of the most important poets, writers, but also artists of the last century. He became friends with Salvatore Quasimodo, Eugenio Montale, Arturo Martini, Giorgio De Chirico and Carlo Carrà.
Francesco Messina. Beauty prodigies
December 18, 2021 – February 27, 2022
Locations in Vercelli:
ARCA, piazzetta S. Marco, 1 – opening hours: Thursday-Sunday 10.00am – 7.00pm
Archbishop’s Palace piazza Alessandro d’Angennes, 5 – opening hours: Thursday – Sunday 2 – 6 pm
Former Church of San Vittore, Largo d’Azzo: view from the outside
Reservations required: mostre@gmail.com
Catalog: co-edition of Polistampa Florence and Studio Copernico Milan.