Created in 1932, “The Awakening” belongs to a central phase in the research of Mario Sironi, one of the leading figures of the Italian Novecento movement. In these years, in fact, Sironi developed an increasingly essential and monumental language, oriented towards a formal synthesis that reduces the figure to structure and volume.
The composition presents a seated female figure, captured in a moment of introspection. However, rather than a narrative description, the work offers a reflection on the body as a silent sculptural presence. Moreover, the collected posture and reclining head suggest an introspective dimension, consistent with the title, which refers to an awakening that is not only physical but also inner.
From a technical point of view, the mixed media on canvas allows Sironi to obtain a remarkably dense and material pictorial surface. Consequently, the colour fields appear compact, dominated by dark and earthy tones, while light emerges by subtraction, modelling the volumes through gradual transitions. At the same time, the undefined background eliminates any precise spatial reference, accentuating the isolation of the figure.
Sironi, trained between Divisionism and Futurism, arrived in the 1920s and 1930s at a severe and constructed painting, influenced by the classical tradition and by the desire to restore an archaic solidity to representation. Therefore, also in this work, the figure appears suspended between modernity and memory.
Consequently, “The Awakening” represents a significant example of Sironi’s poetics, in which the human figure becomes a symbol of introspection and permanence, beyond any narrative contingency.
Description: Mixed media on canvas, signed lower left Sironi, number 11845 on the reverse, H cm 33×30.
Notes: Bearing on the reverse label with stamp Galleria Annunciata – Milan with no. 8498. Bearing on the reverse label Galleria La Nuova Loggia – Bologna with no. 1928. Work accompanied by a certificate of authenticity with stamp of Galleria La Nuova Loggia – Bologna.
Publication: Work published in ‘Mario Sironi’, Raffaele de Grada, Club amici dell’arte Editore, p. 157, fig. 73.
Provenance: Private Collection – Bologna.
Hammer Price: € 10.540,00
Auction 36 – 25 February 2020 – Modern and Contemporary Art
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