Francesco Messina. Contemporary twentieth century

carlottaceccarini9
May 26, 2022
3 min read

On exhibition at Villa Torlonia from 14th of April to 4th of September 2022 the sculptors of Francesco Messina. Bronzes, terracotta and plaster casts that are configured in a space between modernity and tradition.

Francesco Messina. Novecento Contemporaneo, Villa Torlonia (photo by Carlotta Ceccarini)

81 works belonging to the Francesco Messina Studio Museum interact with each other inside the former Casino Nobile. Curated by Maria Fratelli, Chiara Fabi and Chiara Battezzati, promoted by Roma Culture and the Capitoline Superintendency for Cultural Heritage, in collaboration with the Municipality of Milan.

Born at the beginning of the twentieth century at the foot of Etna from a very poor family, Messina leaves his homeland to pursue the American dream, but does not get to land beyond the sea, he stops in Genoa, a city animated by the presence of figures such as Montale and where Messina approaches the marble workshops. Here his passion for sculpture was born and he began to cultivate friendships with the most illustrious characters of the time, Quasimodo and Montale, Carrà and Arturo Martini among others. At the beginning of the 1930s he was adopted by the city of Milan where he acquired notoriety and where he defined his style, which was consecrated by his numerous participations in Venice Biennale and by his first personal exhibition at the Galleria Milano in 1929.

His monumental groups in the cemeteries of Milan and Paris are famous, but even more the portraits of famed people, including the portrait of Lucio Fontana or the dancer Carla Fracci. The theme of dance is very dear to Messina and remains a constant in his production. In the wake of Degas, bronze permeates to give life to slender figures, in the traditional poses of ballet dancers with tutu and pointe shoes, so light and elegant that they seem to take flight during their jumps.

The dancers are joined since the 60s and 70s by horses. He is famous for the 5-meter bronze horse of Rai, the Dying Horse. A series of works, mostly in bronze too, which allow the Sicilian sculptor to continue the investigation of the dancers, or rather of the movements of the body in space.

Admired by Giorgio de Chirico and Picasso, Francesco Messina promotes an ancient past, but without a nostalgic gaze. Contemporary artist revolutionizes the ideal of classical statuary by creating a poetic language applied to the visual arts and adapted to the artistic times in which Messina was living. A new approach to tradition that will be a source of inspiration for future generations. The study of movement, futurist speed, is translated from new technologies to more traditional subjects, horses and dancers, signing himself in the history of art as a poet of images.

The imagery of Francesco Messina, rich in echoes of the classical Greek and Roman heritage, but also Hellenistic "is characterized by a simple and grandiose way of doing, an idealistic and classic procedure, capable of giving life to forms that remain as ideal images" (Carlo Carrà)

"What Francesco Messina is looking for in his sculpture is to achieve the beauty of the plastic appearance with the right and finished shapes: the finesse of the modeling, the character resulting from acute observation and long elaboration; all combined with elegance and good taste " (Giorgio de Chirico)

DANCER

You brought me a bunch of flowers

You said goodbye to me one summer morning

As you walked away you hinted at a dance step.

You told me about your house by the sea

And of the Forza d'Agrò wind

Of the arteries of fire on the ridges of Etna.

You told me in this way your blood flows

When on the points you are preparing to enter

In the panic scene that shocks you with light.

This is your seagull grill

Your being devoid of lies