DUILIO CAMBELLOTTI'S ART: SHAPES AND IMAGES OF THE ROMAN COUNTRYSIDE
In the latest auction of paintings, furniture and objects of art, lot 433, the Conca dei Cavalli, an original work by Duilio Cambellotti (Rome 1876- 1960) was sold for € 24,000 (plus the auction fee), a remarkable result which went well beyond the author’s usual sales. Such an event fosters some historical-critical thinking about Duilio Cambellotti, an eclectic artist with extraordinary and innovative artistic skills, and on his place within the Italian artistic production. In so doing, it is our hope that it will mark the beginning of a well-deserved, long-lasting recognition.
Son of an artisan, Duilio Cambellotti studied arts at secondary school, where he specialised in metal engraving. He soon approached the Roman artistic environment where, from the very start, he showed great interest in the applied arts. Spanning many fields, he worked as a poster designer, an illustrator, a set designer for both theatre and cinema, and he created small-sized bronze sculptures, chandeliers, jewels and glass walls.
In the early 20th century, Rome was hosting many German artists. Minor Arts exhibitions were taking place all over Europe (in Turin in 1902). The works by Charles Rennie Mackintosh (Glasgow 1868 - London 1928) became very popular in Italy, and so did the theories of the social utility of art by William Morris (Walthamstow 1834 - Hammersmith 1896). Cambellotti both absorbed and reshaped the European Art Nouveau movement, as he claimed in 1908: “Foreign artists may have influenced my decorative art production (such as lamps for a German house), but they have not had any influence on my free style. The only thing I have learnt from them is the desire to always be innovative and to move forward. I am not interested in being original at all costs. In my works, I always try to combine the natural forms with my artistic desire, without ever distorting them (in: Galleria Carlo Virgilio - Carlo Virgilio Gallery, Duilio Cambellotti, “L’artista- artigiano” (The artisan-artist), in the critical essays by Mario Quesada, Rome 1998, page 32).
His meeting with Giovanni Cena (Montanaro Canavese 1870 - Rome 1917) proved to be a turning point for Cambellotti. Promoters of pedagogical activities in the Roman plain, together with Angelo Celli and Alessandro Marcucci, they founded between 1904 and 1914 about sixty schools for farmers. Their aim was giving back social dignity to the people inhabiting the Roman countryside. In so doing, Cambellotti wished to spread an aesthetics that was useful and easy to understand.
From his vast artistic production, we will present the group of sculptures of vases with animals. After Cambellotti’s words during the period of his Roman activism: “I worked on a series of bronze vases of different sizes for a very long time; they all mirrored the visions, the expressions and the shapes of the Roman countryside. My aim was not the mere creation of some fine knickknacks, but rather that of expressing a state of mind, a feeling even: through those vases, as if they were a painting or a sculpture, I wanted to replicate the same feeling that is usually experienced when admiring that countryside; images and visions that have always been predominant in my artistic production. (in: Il Museo Duilio Cambellotti a Latina opere scelte dalla collezione – The Museum Duilio Cambellotti in Latina; works chosen from his collection - F. Tetro, Rome 2002, page 181). Such sketches were then turned into everyday objects, similar to the one we will present are the Vaso con tori (Vase with bulls), (1903-1906), Vaso dei vitelli poppanti (Vase with calves), (1903-1908), la Conca dei bufali (Buffalos’ vase), (1910), Vaso dei Corvi (Vase with crows), (1910- 1913) (in: Cambellotti (1876-1960), Exhibition Catalogue, Rome 1999-2000, pages 118-121).
This cup is slightly bigger than usual. Shaped like an Etruscan bowl, the original model belonged to Cambellotti, who was a fine connaisseur of excavation objects (in: Il Museo Duilio Cambellotti a Latina opere scelte dalla collezione - The Museum Duilio Cambellotti in Latina; works chosen from his collection - F. Tetro, Rome 2002, page 133). Here the past is revisited with elements drawn from the naturalistic world. The novelty and the genius are also expressed in the continuity between the body of the vase and the three horses that stand out, thus creating a harmonious ensemble with the smooth surface of the background. Shapes are compact and the light reflecting on the surface makes for synthetic and sharp volumes. The broken lines characterising the animals’ outline remind of Secessionists’ sculptural art. Yet, Cambellotti stands out thanks to the direct, though never forced, link to nature. Quoting the artist: “I’ve never fit in with ordinary artists; my work has always tried to go that extra inch: it has never been meant to simply satiate the eye; I’ve tried to say something more, to convey something more. Of course, in so doing, I’ve always tried not to be old, boring, rethorical”. (in: Narciso Galleria d’Arte - Art Gallery Narciso, Duilio Cambellotti, Turin 2008, page 9).
By Maria Ludovica Vertova
Son of an artisan, Duilio Cambellotti studied arts at secondary school, where he specialised in metal engraving. He soon approached the Roman artistic environment where, from the very start, he showed great interest in the applied arts. Spanning many fields, he worked as a poster designer, an illustrator, a set designer for both theatre and cinema, and he created small-sized bronze sculptures, chandeliers, jewels and glass walls.
In the early 20th century, Rome was hosting many German artists. Minor Arts exhibitions were taking place all over Europe (in Turin in 1902). The works by Charles Rennie Mackintosh (Glasgow 1868 - London 1928) became very popular in Italy, and so did the theories of the social utility of art by William Morris (Walthamstow 1834 - Hammersmith 1896). Cambellotti both absorbed and reshaped the European Art Nouveau movement, as he claimed in 1908: “Foreign artists may have influenced my decorative art production (such as lamps for a German house), but they have not had any influence on my free style. The only thing I have learnt from them is the desire to always be innovative and to move forward. I am not interested in being original at all costs. In my works, I always try to combine the natural forms with my artistic desire, without ever distorting them (in: Galleria Carlo Virgilio - Carlo Virgilio Gallery, Duilio Cambellotti, “L’artista- artigiano” (The artisan-artist), in the critical essays by Mario Quesada, Rome 1998, page 32).
His meeting with Giovanni Cena (Montanaro Canavese 1870 - Rome 1917) proved to be a turning point for Cambellotti. Promoters of pedagogical activities in the Roman plain, together with Angelo Celli and Alessandro Marcucci, they founded between 1904 and 1914 about sixty schools for farmers. Their aim was giving back social dignity to the people inhabiting the Roman countryside. In so doing, Cambellotti wished to spread an aesthetics that was useful and easy to understand.
From his vast artistic production, we will present the group of sculptures of vases with animals. After Cambellotti’s words during the period of his Roman activism: “I worked on a series of bronze vases of different sizes for a very long time; they all mirrored the visions, the expressions and the shapes of the Roman countryside. My aim was not the mere creation of some fine knickknacks, but rather that of expressing a state of mind, a feeling even: through those vases, as if they were a painting or a sculpture, I wanted to replicate the same feeling that is usually experienced when admiring that countryside; images and visions that have always been predominant in my artistic production. (in: Il Museo Duilio Cambellotti a Latina opere scelte dalla collezione – The Museum Duilio Cambellotti in Latina; works chosen from his collection - F. Tetro, Rome 2002, page 181). Such sketches were then turned into everyday objects, similar to the one we will present are the Vaso con tori (Vase with bulls), (1903-1906), Vaso dei vitelli poppanti (Vase with calves), (1903-1908), la Conca dei bufali (Buffalos’ vase), (1910), Vaso dei Corvi (Vase with crows), (1910- 1913) (in: Cambellotti (1876-1960), Exhibition Catalogue, Rome 1999-2000, pages 118-121).
This cup is slightly bigger than usual. Shaped like an Etruscan bowl, the original model belonged to Cambellotti, who was a fine connaisseur of excavation objects (in: Il Museo Duilio Cambellotti a Latina opere scelte dalla collezione - The Museum Duilio Cambellotti in Latina; works chosen from his collection - F. Tetro, Rome 2002, page 133). Here the past is revisited with elements drawn from the naturalistic world. The novelty and the genius are also expressed in the continuity between the body of the vase and the three horses that stand out, thus creating a harmonious ensemble with the smooth surface of the background. Shapes are compact and the light reflecting on the surface makes for synthetic and sharp volumes. The broken lines characterising the animals’ outline remind of Secessionists’ sculptural art. Yet, Cambellotti stands out thanks to the direct, though never forced, link to nature. Quoting the artist: “I’ve never fit in with ordinary artists; my work has always tried to go that extra inch: it has never been meant to simply satiate the eye; I’ve tried to say something more, to convey something more. Of course, in so doing, I’ve always tried not to be old, boring, rethorical”. (in: Narciso Galleria d’Arte - Art Gallery Narciso, Duilio Cambellotti, Turin 2008, page 9).
By Maria Ludovica Vertova