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Laguna Veneta

Renato Birolli

Artwork Details

Laguna Veneta
1954
Renato Birolli
color lithograph on wove paper
26 3/8 in x 18 15/16 in (67 cm x 48.1 cm);26 3/8 in x 18 15/16 in (67 cm x 48.1 cm)
Gift of the Estate of Helen B. Hall
1996/2.59

Description

Subject Matter:

Birolli was a founding member of the "Gruppo degli Otto" (Group of Eight) that formed in the early 1950s. Birolli and his group were proponents of a new kind of abstraction, which Italian art historian Lionello Venturi called "astratto concreto" (concrete abstraction). This lithograph demonstrates the ideals of the group in it's post-cubist style of abstraction, and Birolli's own interest in the larger European trend of Art Informel with its messy and gestural lines. The title, "Venetial Lagoon," sheds light on the strong horizon line at the center of the image; the shapes and lines growing before the horizon may represent abstractions of the grand palazzi of the Ventitian landscape.

Physical Description:

Color lithograph with an abstract design. There is a light blue-green background for upper-half of the work and navy blue for the lower half. Dominating the right side of the print are thick black lines, while abstract white, yellow and pink shapes dominate the left. The print is signed (l.r) "R. Birolli" and numbered (l.l.) "83/100" in pencil.

Usage Rights:

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