12 April – 2 May 2009
CINO BOZZETTI – The poetry of etching in the Italian XX Century
curated by Karin Reisovà and Livio Girivetto
CINO BOZZETTI
Etcher 1876 – 1949
“Thinking about Cino Bozzetti” by Pino Mantovani
I flip through ” The engravings of Cino Bozzetti”, published by Angelo Dragone in 1950 , which is still essential not only for information but to share in the reading acuity . The book, with the author’s handwritten dedication “To my dearest friends in and Ugo Malvano , in memory of the unforgettable Cino ,” was lended by the son of Nella and Ugo, and also the letters to Hugh and the Cino and , photocopy those of Hugh and the Cino preserved in the Sketches of Borgoratto . On several occasions I see this material, each time I find the reasons of interest and depth .
I am reminded of the ratings on Cino Bozzetti of artists differ widely : our VanGogh , said Italo Cremona and Mario Davico ; The Best Super Cheap modern etcher, said Giorgio Morandi. I remember that in the house of Felice Casorati in Pavarolo are exposed numerous graphical by Cino Bozzetti, proof as important as the ones of the xylographer Galante and etcher Calandri ; that just Calandri held in the hall of a house the printing of Cino Bozzetti, of course, some drawn by the artist where there are “errors” and went back to the pen. The intelligence of the good artists, I think we should pick up any track , to make a concrete history and centered . When artists are exchanged in different shapes thoughts and judgments about art – often ruthless – together with works and projects , it is definitely worth paying attention , as it is likely to open up glimpses of intimate understanding that the approach from ‘ exterior , as informed and sharp , fails to grasp . Even more so in this case, since all the artists nominated , although diverse in age , education, and stylistic choices , were deeply convinced that modern art , not to lapse in performance or narcissistic repetition of useless skills , needs wide knowledge , of critical severity of persistent occurs in the renewal of the research. “Modernity ” is just that : knowledge , consciousness and responsibility of the produce and products. This reduces the distance between those who operate and interpreter, to the point that you can even reverse sides: as an artist Sketches take longer to meditate art to build it physically , being doing just the latest step in a process of imagination and conceptual development ; that a critic like Piergiorgio Dragon, heir of his father Angelo , is able to transcribe the emotion of the artist. Using precise words like these: ” It ‘s almost impossible to get your hands on a sheet … [ Cino ] and resist the temptation to graze the surface with your fingers. Deep the recess left imprinted in the paper barks , the ink is so detected – then dense and clotted , as now dry but still full – that the incision seems to be an extraordinary bas-relief . The strong inking that gives depth to each sign is one of the charms and qualitative value of the copies printed by the artist. Incised marks to bottom, thanks to the slow etching and net perchloride of iron, so that one turn the paper over and observe the cast as dry , right on the back of the card: where halos are yellowish and oily ink , furrowed the deeper lines of the tree branches … [ for example] ”
I will grant that the proximity , the adhesion of the reader / interpreter work is, in the passage quoted , so intimate and conjure up or even compromised by the gesture trace and the trace of the artist on the plate and on the paper.
As for the distance that another critic, Edoardo Persico, took early thirties with respect to the matter and to its processing , it is not dissimilar to the distance that the artist needs to take in relation to the choices and actions that build the ‘ work is the distance that the body is alive , that the gesture alone, apparently unjustified , it becomes a sign of a deeply held belief , the “principle of dignity and coherence” , a model of rigor ” in front of oestrus and the ability of the intriguing … the ease of improvisers . ”
In the debate, very interesting, Malvano and entertain through the twenties and thirties on the relationship between meditation and action, Malvano defends the importance of that ” externalizes , materializes thought and makes it more real and more subtle ,” which is more difficult and ” higher then that of meditation … it is often only fantasy ” ; Cino Bozzetti insists on the necessity of theoretical development ( philosophical and scientific ) objectivity to merit the image and allow it to grow beyond the level of intuition and impression , even at the cost of delaying the results , because only the genuine gains consciousness , ” while making art without a guide … just to do , following the case in what seems best, making art brings uncertain and even spurious … ” . Both, however , are convinced that “art is done in the head and the head,” checking with the brain and the bizarre ramblings of pleasant temperament ( in a negative sense the exemplary case of Delleani , ” a true artist ‘s temperament … but too little brain “and therefore lacking sufficient consistency ethics)
At this point , I think, we have collected sufficient data , to understand the centrality of the incision in the work of the overall Cino Designs:
– Etching , as is the artist, is the figurative language more simple and meaningful ( the mediation of the plate and printing, rather than enhance , reduce any temptation to trick or kitchen ) ;
– The graphic trace is safe ( the bituminous paint causes the painter to act without second thoughts , the deep etching off the traits spared by the parties , inking brand white and black , sensitive cards ” pittoricizzano ” outcomes without the need for emphasis ” picturesque “);
– The structure of thought , so to speak , he identifies with the material body , ie the skeleton with flesh ;
– The strong simplification of the image, as it contains the natural component , enhances the symbolic , without suffer some harm , however, the evidence of the representation.
– The certainty of the track etched into the metal and the sharpness of the trace printed on paper enshrine the irreversibility of the decision that generated the gesture .
If we were to measure the incision Cino Sketches by category of Florensky , the place we should from the ” Lutheran “, where the feeling – the feeling of panic per.Cino of nature – is founded on reason and supported by rigor .