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