Cities - Mario Sironi

Growth of european urpan centresCities grew and became urbanized London Manchester Milan Turin Genoa

Mario Sironi

1885-1961 Magazine illustrator - Arcitectural elements & squared off human figures dressed in black Primarily landscape painter His paintings subtly criticized Modernity? WWI veteran - struggled to adapt to civilian life after war (many artists did after WWI) Modernist Futurist ->Fascist (joined movement 'novecento')

Sironi's pre-fascist art was mainly in 1920's, focused on urban landscapes - unlike futurists, his works were grounded in reality (but not realism; he still did not conform to norms of 19th/early 20th century artConcentrated on Milanese outskirts, where working class live)d (as well as him, because he was a poor artist)Urban Landscapes had used a number of key themes: Use of limited number of mainly cubic forms Use of light-dark contrast (chiaroscuro) Repetitive window boxes Monumentalisation of factories and public housing (The urban landscape itself was the protagonist of these works) Empty, silent streets (or the only things to be heard were the factories or vehicles; human silence) - Solitude Sironi’s city spaces ‘are at once alienating and authoritative’ (E. Braun) Lone trains, trams, trucks or stylized human figures Other themes included: Futurism - magnification and aggression of urban life Metaphysical painting - Theme of immobility Influences - Giorgio de Chirico & Carlo Carrà The symbols of industrial progress glorified by Futurism (factories, railways, etc) have been deprived of the bustling life glorified by the supports of the new and turned into timeless monuments. The vibrant metropolis is turned into ‘brooding wasteland’ (E. Braun)- Although Sironi was a futurist sympathizer his work still highlighted the negative aspects of urbanisation [alienation]

In 1920-21 the urban landscapes evoke a darker mood They tend to be void of human presence The views are taken from greater distance and the perspective becomes increasingly complicated Streets and objects are often seen from above = Claustrophobic or vertiginous effect

Depiction of architectural elements:Cubic volumes Distinguishable types: Stark, rectangular facades of public housing with rows of square windows Oblong factory sheds with slim industrial chimneys Linear pattern of railway tracks or tramway Curves of concrete ramps and underpasses

Sironi started painting the industrial periphery during the so-called biennio rosso (1919-1920), a period of social unrest in Italy, which culminated in the occupation of factories in Northern Italy by organized workers.Historical context - Russian revolution = rise in prevalence of working class proletariat Sironi’s painting contained reference to housing and working conditions at a time when it was thought that the overthrowing of bourgeois order by the proletariat would be imminent.This is what led to rise of futurism and fascism (F&F were counterculture movements to rising socialist ideologies)His urban landscapes depict a a specific area spanning southwest of Milan, which had seen industrial growth in the late 1800s, when factories began to rise in the countryside

The lower classes were pushed outside the city walls Labour demand increased the population of the city: a large number of immigrants settled in the outskirts of Milan. In 1911 more than 300k lived outside the walls. By 1921, more than 400k lived outside the walls. The beautiful historic centre was almost exclusively inhabited by the upper classes, while the lower classes lived in bleak peripheries. They were accommodated in the so-called case popolari, [cheap and rapidly built, four or five storey high, with standardized and unadorned facades] Although Sironi was against socialism, he supported the workers

Sironi’s urban landscapes evoke the classical tradition of early Renaissance art, on the one hand. On the other, they are a continuation of Futurism’s anti-Socialist, anti-bourgeois politics. The ideological resonance of the urban landscapes lies in the ambivalence towards technological progress, with its potential for alienation, and towards the new society for the masses.

His landscapes criticize both the extensive construction and speculation and the failure of the government policies on housing Bleak vision of modern industrial speculation and polarization of the classes

Influences - Piero della Francesca: Perspective & Depth

Influences - De Chirico: Isolation, Alienation & Colour Palette

Influences - Futurism