Paolo Tessari
Bruch allʼitaliana (Italian-Style Break, 1973)
Photo: N. Lackner / UMJ
In the 1960s and 1970s, intense political struggles took place in Italy, a country deeply scarred by fascism and war. At this time, Neo-Avant-Garde artist Paolo Tessari (born 1945, Venice, lives in Sondrio [?]) developed an interest in the historical events that led to the nation’s founding in the second half of the 19th century, approaching them in a Pop Art key.
Bruch all’italiana depicts eight figures representing the Royal Carabineers Corps. They appear sarcastic compared to the usual pathos and celebratory intents of patriotic gestures in art. In a graphic twist, Tessari inserts three stripes resembling a flag, as if the colors had originally been painted on the background and then resurfaced under a layer of black paint.
Inspired by toy soldiers made of cardboard, these cartoonish silhouettes appeared in life-size scale in multiple 1970s installations by Tessari, on representative public squares from Rome to Trieste.
Screen printing on wood stencils / wood panel, 147 × 97 × 3.5 cm
Neue Galerie Graz / Universalmuseum Joanneum