Enodas

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C'é una farfalla bianca che si mischia tra i fiori. Come un'immagine lontana che riaffiora alla mente. E' la leggerezza dell'anima, quell'essere quasi "insostenibile". E come allora, inseguo, cercando un'immagine da catturare e tenere per me. Che si sovrapponga ad un'altra, in maniera quasi simmetrica, e mi parli di me. Perché, come ho scritto una volta, tanto tempo fa, anche attendere tra steli d'erba cercando di raccogliere un battito d'ali può raccontare qualcosa. Con quella semplicità e quella fragilità che é racchiusa in quel volo. Ed una carezza che a volte, in qualche parte nascosta del cuore, hai sperato di ricevere. Torno ad un messaggio scritto molti anni fa, dove mi rivedo, proprio qui, proprio sfiorando quasi gli stessi fiori, respirandone il profumo simile. Qua dove tutto sembra invisibile, nascosto nei colori sgargianti che esplodono in un giardino fatto di minuscoli sentieri allineati, arcate di fiori e specchi d'acqua silenziosi. E' uno di quei luoghi dell'anima che, una volta scoperti, rimangono per sempre.

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Qualcosa di un'anima, un po' come quella che si specchiava in un mondo d'acqua e fiori galleggianti e raccoglieva i colori per distribuirli sulla tela. Per raccontare ciò che vedeva, e ciò che ad un certo punto non vedeva più. Allora, é bello e suggestivo immaginare che quest'uomo d'altri tempi dipingesse con l'anima, ed in quegli stessi riflessi annacquasse il pennello che aveva in mano. Oscillano, quasi impercettibilmente, sotto un'onda lieve che sembra un sussulto. Tremano. I petali, le foglie larghe stese sull'acqua, i rami in caduta dei salici. Ed in quello stesso moto lieve si sprigiona tutta la loro preziosa insicurezza. E forse saranno gli occhi stessi ad annacquarsi un po', un istante magari, al pensiero della magia che si concentra dietro questi colori, dentro quegli impasti stesi su tela, come una partitura che non ha finale vero e proprio, ma continua a variare. Una musica costante.

"Vediamo solo quello che vogliamo; é tutta una finzione ma, questa falsità, costituisce l'arte...."

"...non comprendono che per me la danza é stata un pretesto per dipingere dei bei tessuti e rendere dei movimenti..."

Degas, an Impressionist Painter?

(dalle note all'allestimento temporaneo a Giverny, Luglio 2015)

"Considered one of the leading figures of the Impressionism, Edgar Degas nevertheless disliked painting outdoors on the motif as most impressionists did, and he had complex relationships with the other members of the movement.  Of course Degas was an impressionist, but he was above all a cutting-edge artist.
Through 80 paintings, pastels, drawings or sculptures, the exhibition explores the links between Degas and the impressionist movement. The artist focused on themes that were more personal, like  horse races, or the work of the ballet dancers of the Opera, where he had the opportunity of studying the effects of artificial lighting.

Studying the antics
After a classical artistical training in Paris, Degas spent three years in his family in Italy where he visited many galleries and copied the masters. In his own compositions he was often inspired by the Antiquity. His painting methods were traditional: studies after living models, preparatory drawings, carefully planned composition... This differs thoroughly from the impressionist technics of seizing instantaneity on the motif.

Portraits and modern life
Degas participated in 7 out of 8 impressionist exhibitions that were held from 1874 to 1886. Moreover, he was much involved in organizing them. He invited his friends to participate, like the American Mary Cassatt. But because most of Degas friends were not impressionists, the result was to discourage Monet and Renoir and lessen the quality of the exhibitions. The exhibits appeared to be more an expression of the broader movement of naturalism than impressionism. They displayed many portraits and scène de genre, that were celebrated in the official Salons of the late 19th century.

What about landscapes?
Degas loved painting dancers, indoors scenes and modern life, and didn't pay much attention to landscape and nature. However he left a series of landscapes pastels that he drew out of his memory in his studio in 1869. Later on, in 1890, he turned back to landscapes through a numerous series of monotypes enhanced with pastel. They appear like memories, almost abstract visions, and were showcased in the Durand-Ruel gallery in 1892.  These works seem to be closer to symbolism than to impressionism.

The moving body
Degas was fascinated by movement,  especially by ballet and dance.  Opera and ballet were fashionable in the late 19th century. They were part of the night life that was made possible by artificial lighting.  Degas works feature the effects of stage light on the body and outfits of dancers, their attitude and movement. Degas also observed the hard backstage work of the young girls.

Degas after 1892
After 1892, Degas withdrew from the artistic life of Paris and refused to exhibit.  The impressionists had divided to go on their own way. At this time Degas painted out of his memory pastels of dancers and nudes taht he described as a feast of colors. This cutting-edge style was to inspire the younger artists at teh tunr of the century, leading to fauvism and cubism. The avant-garde style of Degas appeared in plain sight when his late works were exhibited after he died."