“Motherhood” by Antonio Bueno immediately represents one of the most recurring and intimate themes in the painting of the Italian-Spanish master. Born in Berlin in 1918 and active mainly between Florence and Fiesole, Bueno developed a personal figurative language, suspended between memory, irony and poetic simplification of the image. After his early work close to realism and to the experience of the Group of Modern Painters of Reality, the artist progressively developed a more rarefied and lyrical painting, recognizable for its essential figures and suspended atmospheres.
In this work, the composition is built around the delicate relationship between mother and child. However, the traditional theme of motherhood is reinterpreted through simplified forms, soft colours and an almost timeless atmosphere. The slender and silent female figure emerges against a luminous orange background, which accentuates the sense of calm and introspection. Moreover, the barely suggested face and the linear construction of the anatomies recall the search for formal synthesis typical of Bueno’s mature production.
The chromatic choice plays a central role. In fact, the pink, orange and cream tones help to create an intimate and contemplative image, far from any naturalistic description. At the same time, the smooth surface of the faesite enhances the delicacy of the painterly line.
Through works such as “Motherhood”, Antonio Bueno demonstrates his ability to combine figuration and emotional abstraction, characteristics of his painting that are still highly appreciated today within the panorama of twentieth-century Italian art.
Description: Oil on faesite, signed upper right “A. Bueno”, bearing on the reverse the figures “ABYR246” and traces of a stamp, H cm 28×17.5 – with frame H cm 53×42.
Provenance: Private Collection.
Hammer Price: € 8.680,00
Auction 55 – 26 October 2022 – Modern and contemporary art, graphics and multiples
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