CARLO FORNARA. At the Roots of Divisionismo - show at Casa de Rodis, Domodossola

CARLO FORNARA. At the Roots of Divisionism 1890-1910	> ITALIANO
Curated by Annie-Paule Quinsac

click on image to open the virtual tour
Casa de Rodis, Domodossola May, 28 - October, 20 - 2019

This exhibition which concludes the celebrations for the fiftieth anniversary of Carlo Fornara's death (1871-1958) is not a retrospective: instead, it revolves around the two most crucial decades of his artistic career, the last of the 19th century and the first of the 20th. Thirty five oil paintings and fifteen works on paper have been gathered to allow the visitors to rethink the most intense period of the artist's output and international outreach at the time of the genesis and apex of Italian Divisionism.
The show is organized from the top to bottom of the building- from the attic to the basement - in order to extol the medieval structure of "Casa de Rodis", architectural jewel, maybe better suited than any other to let us penetrate into the artist's soul through his milieu and the light that has inspired his work. 1. ATTIC: 1890-1895/96; from the last year of his studies of painting under Enrico Cavalli at Santa Maria Maggiore Art School to his return home after the first stay in Lyon. 2. SECOND FLOOR: 1896- August 1898; from the second trip to France (Lyon and Paris) to the month in Maloya, Engadin with Segantini; from an Empirical Divisionism rooted in French teachings to the discovery of Segantini's peculiar technique and visionary symbolism. 3. FIRST FLOOR: 1902- 1910 legacy of Segantini's technique, rejection of Symbolism, influence of photography, and return to a realist interpretation of the Val Vigezzo, his home, perceived as Garden of Armida. 4. BASEMENT: Works on paper Back room: Pen dan ink drawings, almost all anterior to 1900 Main room: drawings realized as an end in itself, in a slow process, as thought through as paintings, most of them reflecting symbolist overtones.

The works chosen are icons in the production of the artist. Six of them were cleaned and restored in preparation of the exhibition: Rocks[1900-1902], Crana[1904] Light and Shadow[1904], Fontanalba[1904-1906], End of Fall in the Maggia Valley[1908]. All at the exclusion of October Glory [1897] are exhibited on the First Floor.

Without the profound dedication and expert collaboration of Paola and Stella Poscio and their eagerness to see the project realized, neither the show nor the virtual tour would have seen the light. For their faith in the project and sustained efforts, we are grateful.

CARLO FORNARA. At the Roots of Divisionism 1890-1910