Purismo
Purismo was an Italian cultural movement that began in the 1820s and flourished until about 1860, seeking a purer art and language through the study of medieval and early Renaissance models. In painting it rejected both Neoclassical polish and Baroque spectacle, looking instead to the primitive Italian masters from Cimabue and Giotto to the young Raphael - a taste it shared with the German Nazarenes and, in spirit, with the later Pre-Raphaelites in Britain. The name was coined in 1838 around Antonio Bianchini's paintings, and the ideals were declared in the manifesto Del purismo nelle arti (1842-43), signed by Bianchini, Tommaso Minardi, Friedrich Overbeck and Pietro Tenerani. Followers such as Luigi Mussini spread the style, which declined after Italy's first national exhibition in 1861, giving way to Verismo and the Macchiaioli.
Defining characteristics
- Return to early-Renaissance clarity: calm, flat, readable compositions after Giotto and early Raphael
- Rejection of Neoclassical polish and Baroque theatricality
- Pale, restrained color and careful linear draftsmanship
- Devotional and literary subjects rendered with sincere, archaizing simplicity
- Meticulous finish and soft, even light
Key figures
- Tommaso Minardi (1787-1871) — Leading painter of the movement and co-signer of its manifesto
- Friedrich Overbeck (1789-1869) — Nazarene co-founder who lent Purismo its reforming ideals
- Pietro Tenerani (1789-1869) — Sculptor who brought Purismo's ideals to marble
- Luigi Mussini (1813-1888) — Painter and academy director who spread the style in Tuscany
Example works
- La Musica Sacra — Luigi Mussini (1841)
- Del purismo nelle arti (manifesto) — Antonio Bianchini, Tommaso Minardi, Friedrich Overbeck and Pietro Tenerani (1843)
Sources
- Purismo - Wikipedia encyclopedia