Mario Sironi

Galleria Romano, Genova
Galleria Rotta, Genova
Galleria Flora Bigai, Pietrasanta
Acquired from the above by the present owner circa 1990

Genova, Museo Civico, 1960, illustrated in the catalogue
Venice, XXX Esposizione Biennale d'Arte, 1960, illustrated in the catalogue
Florence, Palazzo Strozzi, Mostra mercato nazionale d'Arte Contemporanea, 1963
Mila, Palazze Reale, Maria Sironi, 1973, no. 91, illustrated in the catalogue
Verona, Galleria dello Scudo, Mario Sironi. Cinquant'anni di Pittura Italiana, 1982
Milan, Palazzo Reale, Mario Sironi, 1985, no. 98, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Paris, Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Années 30 en Europe. 1929-1930, 1997
Siracusa, Cripta del Collegio, Sironi. Profezia-Pittura-Poesis, 1998

Emporium, April-June 1944, no. 99, illustrated n.p.
Marco Valsecchi, Mario Sironi, Rome, 1962, illustrated p. 92 (dated 1935)
Raffaele De Grada, Storia autobiografica universale dell'arte moderna, Milan, 1966, no. 4, illustrated p. 25 
Fabio Benzi, Mario Sironi 1885-1961 (exhibition catalogue), Rome, 1993-4, illustrated p. 226

The canvas is not lined. There is a layer of varnish which prevents the UV light from fully penetrating. UV examination does however reveal some retouching to the centre left edge and some further small spots and lines of retouching in places, mainly to the right half of the work. There is a minor varnish abrasion above the loin cloth and a few scattered tiny paint losses in places. There is some stable slightly raised craquelure. Otherwise, this work is in overall good condition. Colours are warmer compared to the catalogue illustration.
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Two gargantuan figures opposed, gazing directly at each other, are the subject of Mario Sironi’s musing on the theme of work. The figure on the left of this impressively-scaled painting is portrayed as a quasi-primitive man, pointing perhaps to the idea of work as a most rudimentary means of survival. However, this idea is diametrically opposed by its statuesque counterpart, a white-clad almost Classical looking, and helmet wearing man, hinting to the idea of work as a progression onto the construction of a functioning society.

Such thoughts were central to Sironi’s œuvre of the late 1920s and 1930s, and came in response to events in the political and contemporary landscape of Italian society. In 1927, the same year this work was executed, Benito Mussolini had introduced the Charter of Labour legislation, as a means to protect and invigorate Italian economy and place emphasis on privatisation rather than full-state controlled companies.

Sironi’s protagonists, though emerging from different eras, are in communion through the idea of work, central to the idea of personal development. They are removed from any historical or narrative setting: they are archetypal men, echoing, in the words of Elena Pontiggia, ‘the mythical figures of the Olympus’ (quoted in Sironi. La Grande Decorazione, pp. 298-299). The artist employs a very restricted palette of earthy tones to convey geometrically-constructed volumes which adhere to the surface of the painting. It is a grand example of Sironi’s mural painting and his interest in the resurgence of this artistic practice. In January 1932, the artist continued to be interested in this theme, and publishes his reflections on art focussing on two primary themes: the primacy of monumental mural paintings in the renewal of Italian painting and a call to fuse architecture, painting and sculpture in the name of rejuvenation. Here, he artfully chooses a theme at the centre of contemporary events, and presents it as a fresco of sorts, pointing to the very central idea of public art as a didactic mechanism. Tones are conveyed through richly modulated colour which is almost sculpted on the canvas, and Sironi avoids the brilliance typical of oil so as to concentrate on such a carved surface.

Echoing the grand tradition of painting and the solidity of figures as mastered by trecento artists such as Giotto, Sironi’s masterpiece Il Lavoro is a timeless and meditative portrayal of the everyday.