Mario Mafai
Encyclopedia
Mario Mafai was an Italian
painter
, founder with his wife Antonietta Raphaël
of the modern art movement called Scuola Romana
.
, the free School of Nude at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma. His poetic sense and his career ramained very close to Rome
, both in themes and studies, as well as in influences: the artist's formation during those years was mainly absorbed from Roman galleris and museums, and in the Fine Arts Library at Palazzo Venezia
.
Having met painter and sculptor Raphaël
in 1925, they began a lifelong relationship that encompassed art and private life. In 1927 began exhibiting for the first time, with a Mostra di studi e bozzetti organised by the Associazione Artistica Nazionale in Via Margutta
. In 1928 he had a second exhibition, at the XCIV Mostra degli Amatori e Cultori di Belle Arti, as well as a collective with Scipione
and other painters, at the Young Painters Convention of Palazzo Doria in 1929. Particularly strong is Mafai's anti-impressionism
style.
Those pre-war years were very intense for the artistic couple: in November 1927, Mafai and Raphaël
moved to No. 325 of Roman street via Cavour, in a Savoyan palace subsequently demolished in 1930 in order to allow the fascist construction of the New Empire Way (currently the via dei Fori Imperiali
). The apartment's larger room was immediately transformed by the couple into a studio
.
Within a short time, this studio became a meeting point for literati
such as Enrico Falqui, Giuseppe Ungaretti
, Libero de Libero, Leonardo Sinisgalli
, as well as young artists Scipione
, Renato Marino Mazzacurati
, and Corrado Cagli
.
. Together with his friend Scipione
, Mafai painted from reality, with views of Rome
and its suburbs conveying a new fresh taste of pictorial curiosity, giving no importance to those things which tend to diminish chromatic expression. This vision is particularly emphasised in his 1936-1939 work, on those paintings entitled Demolitions, where the artist joins solemnity with banality, eternity with quotidian - also making a subtle political statement against the great restructuring urban works carried out by the fascist
regime. His paintings always emanate a delicate poetical sense with their multicoloured hives of modest and yet serene domestic intimacy.
Archivio Contemporaneo "Alessandro Bonsanti" - The Mario Mafai-Antonietta Raphaël Fund Mario Mafai and the Scuola romana The Quadriennale di Roma History of the Biennale di Venezia Two Exhibitions on Mafai in Rome and Brescia in 2005 Archivio Contemporaneo "Alessandro Bonsanti" - Mario Mafai Fund Mafai Gallery, selected work on Settemuse.it, with biography. Accessed 26 May 2011
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, founder with his wife Antonietta Raphaël
Antonietta Raphael
Antonietta Raphaël , was an Italian sculptor and painter of Jewish heritage and Lithuanian birth, who founded the Scuola Romana movement together with her husband Mario Mafai. She was an artist characterised by a profound anti-academic conviction, also affirmed by her sculptures which, especially...
of the modern art movement called Scuola Romana
Scuola Romana
Scuola romana or Scuola di via Cavour was a 20th century art movement defined by a group of painters within Expressionism and active in Rome between 1928 and 1945, and with a second phase in the mid-1950s.-Birth of the Movement:...
.
Biography
Mafai left regular school very early, preferring to go and attend with ScipioneScipione (Gino Bonichi)
Gino Bonichi , known as Scipione, was an Italian painter and writer.He was born in Macerata. In 1909 he moved to Rome, where he later enrolled at the Scuola Libera di Nudo of the Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma...
, the free School of Nude at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma. His poetic sense and his career ramained very close to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, both in themes and studies, as well as in influences: the artist's formation during those years was mainly absorbed from Roman galleris and museums, and in the Fine Arts Library at Palazzo Venezia
Palazzo Venezia
The Palazzo di Venezia is a palazzo in central Rome, Italy, just north of the Capitoline Hill. The original structure of this great architectural complex consisted of a modest medieval house intended as the residence of the cardinals appointed to the Church of San Marco...
.
Having met painter and sculptor Raphaël
Antonietta Raphael
Antonietta Raphaël , was an Italian sculptor and painter of Jewish heritage and Lithuanian birth, who founded the Scuola Romana movement together with her husband Mario Mafai. She was an artist characterised by a profound anti-academic conviction, also affirmed by her sculptures which, especially...
in 1925, they began a lifelong relationship that encompassed art and private life. In 1927 began exhibiting for the first time, with a Mostra di studi e bozzetti organised by the Associazione Artistica Nazionale in Via Margutta
Via Margutta
Via Margutta is a narrow street in the centre of Rome, near Piazza del Popolo, accessible from Via del Babbuino in the ancientCampo Marzio neighborhood also known as "the foreigner's quarter". Mount Pincio is nearby...
. In 1928 he had a second exhibition, at the XCIV Mostra degli Amatori e Cultori di Belle Arti, as well as a collective with Scipione
Scipione (Gino Bonichi)
Gino Bonichi , known as Scipione, was an Italian painter and writer.He was born in Macerata. In 1909 he moved to Rome, where he later enrolled at the Scuola Libera di Nudo of the Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma...
and other painters, at the Young Painters Convention of Palazzo Doria in 1929. Particularly strong is Mafai's anti-impressionism
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
style.
Those pre-war years were very intense for the artistic couple: in November 1927, Mafai and Raphaël
Antonietta Raphael
Antonietta Raphaël , was an Italian sculptor and painter of Jewish heritage and Lithuanian birth, who founded the Scuola Romana movement together with her husband Mario Mafai. She was an artist characterised by a profound anti-academic conviction, also affirmed by her sculptures which, especially...
moved to No. 325 of Roman street via Cavour, in a Savoyan palace subsequently demolished in 1930 in order to allow the fascist construction of the New Empire Way (currently the via dei Fori Imperiali
Via dei Fori Imperiali
The Via dei Fori Imperiali is a road in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, that runs in a straight line from the Piazza Venezia to the Colosseum....
). The apartment's larger room was immediately transformed by the couple into a studio
Studio
A studio is an artist's or worker's workroom, or the catchall term for an artist and his or her employees who work within that studio. This can be for the purpose of architecture, painting, pottery , sculpture, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, radio or television...
.
Within a short time, this studio became a meeting point for literati
Literati
Literati may refer to:*Intellectuals or those who read and comment on literature*The scholar-bureaucrats or literati of imperial China**Literati painting, also known as the Southern School of painting, developed by Chinese literati...
such as Enrico Falqui, Giuseppe Ungaretti
Giuseppe Ungaretti
Giuseppe Ungaretti was an Italian modernist poet, journalist, essayist, critic and academic. A leading representative of the experimental trend known as Ermetismo , he was one of the most prominent contributors to 20th century Italian literature. Influenced by symbolism, he was briefly aligned...
, Libero de Libero, Leonardo Sinisgalli
Leonardo Sinisgalli
Leonardo Sinisgalli was an Italian poet and art critic active from the 1930s to the 1970s.Sinisgalli was born in Montemurro, Basilicata. His early education and careers led to him being called the "engineer poet"....
, as well as young artists Scipione
Scipione (Gino Bonichi)
Gino Bonichi , known as Scipione, was an Italian painter and writer.He was born in Macerata. In 1909 he moved to Rome, where he later enrolled at the Scuola Libera di Nudo of the Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma...
, Renato Marino Mazzacurati
Renato Marino Mazzacurati
Renato Marino Mazzacurati , was an Italian painter belonging to the modern movement of the Scuola romana , of eclectic styles and able within his career span to represent the artistic currents of Cubism, Expressionism, and Realism, thus showing a distinctive open mind towards Art and its multiple...
, and Corrado Cagli
Corrado Cagli
Corrado Cagli was an Italian painter of Jewish heritage, who lived in the USA during World War II.Cagli was born in Ancona, but in 1915 moved with his family to Rome....
.
Critical Appraisal
Mafai's preference for a lyrical, intimate subject-matter contrasted with the monumental neo-classicism of the Novecento ItalianoNovecento Italiano
Novecento Italiano was an Italian artistic movement founded in Milan in 1922 by Anselmo Bucci , Leonardo Dudreville , Achille Funi, Gian Emilio Malerba , Piero Marussig, Ubaldo Oppi and Mario Sironi...
. Together with his friend Scipione
Scipione (Gino Bonichi)
Gino Bonichi , known as Scipione, was an Italian painter and writer.He was born in Macerata. In 1909 he moved to Rome, where he later enrolled at the Scuola Libera di Nudo of the Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma...
, Mafai painted from reality, with views of Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
and its suburbs conveying a new fresh taste of pictorial curiosity, giving no importance to those things which tend to diminish chromatic expression. This vision is particularly emphasised in his 1936-1939 work, on those paintings entitled Demolitions, where the artist joins solemnity with banality, eternity with quotidian - also making a subtle political statement against the great restructuring urban works carried out by the fascist
Fascist architecture
Rationalist-Fascist architecture was an Italian architectural style developed during the fascism regime and in particular starting from the late 1920s. It was promoted and practiced initially by the Gruppo 7 group, whose architects included Luigi Figini, Guido Frette, Sebastiano Larco, Gino...
regime. His paintings always emanate a delicate poetical sense with their multicoloured hives of modest and yet serene domestic intimacy.
Filmography
- Io non sono un altro - l'arte di Mario Mafai (I Am Not the Other - The Art of Mario Mafai), DVD, Studio Angeletti & Scuola RomanaScuola RomanaScuola romana or Scuola di via Cavour was a 20th century art movement defined by a group of painters within Expressionism and active in Rome between 1928 and 1945, and with a second phase in the mid-1950s.-Birth of the Movement:...
Archive, 2005, directed by Giorgio Cappozzo
See also
- Scuola RomanaScuola RomanaScuola romana or Scuola di via Cavour was a 20th century art movement defined by a group of painters within Expressionism and active in Rome between 1928 and 1945, and with a second phase in the mid-1950s.-Birth of the Movement:...
- ExpressionismExpressionismExpressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...
- Novecento ItalianoNovecento ItalianoNovecento Italiano was an Italian artistic movement founded in Milan in 1922 by Anselmo Bucci , Leonardo Dudreville , Achille Funi, Gian Emilio Malerba , Piero Marussig, Ubaldo Oppi and Mario Sironi...
- Francisco GoyaFrancisco GoyaFrancisco José de Goya y Lucientes was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker regarded both as the last of the Old Masters and the first of the moderns. Goya was a court painter to the Spanish Crown, and through his works was both a commentator on and chronicler of his era...
- Chaïm SoutineChaim SoutineChaïm Soutine was a Jewish painter from Belarus. Soutine made a major contribution to the expressionist movement while living in Paris....
External links
Mafai's works online, on Artcyclopedia.com. Accessed 26 May 2011 Mario Mafai, on Artfact.com. Accessed 26 May 2011 Archive of the Scuola Romana at Villa TorloniaVilla Torlonia
Villa Torlonia is the name applied to several country retreats of the Torlonia princely family in the outskirts of the city of Rome, in Frascati, Lazio, including:*Villa Torlonia *Villa Torlonia, San Mauro Pascoli*in Rome:...
Archivio Contemporaneo "Alessandro Bonsanti" - The Mario Mafai-Antonietta Raphaël Fund Mario Mafai and the Scuola romana The Quadriennale di Roma History of the Biennale di Venezia Two Exhibitions on Mafai in Rome and Brescia in 2005 Archivio Contemporaneo "Alessandro Bonsanti" - Mario Mafai Fund Mafai Gallery, selected work on Settemuse.it, with biography. Accessed 26 May 2011