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拍品专文
Cavallo is a quintessential example of Marini's most iconic theme. He drew upon one of the oldest subjects in art, one that is steeped in tradition--the horse as seen in Palaeolithic cave drawings and the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius on the Capitol in Rome, to the paintings executed by Renaisssance artists. Marini transformed this timeless subject, and projected a new and modern sensibility on to its forms and emblematic connotations.
Dating from 1952, this horse depicts the dissolution of the monumental solidity which had characterized Marini's representation of the horse in earlier works. Only a few years earlier, Marini's horses had exuded a graceful presence as his riders sat steady on their backs, joined in a mystic union that spoke of tradition and stability. From 1951 onwards, however, Marini's work was dominated by a sense of climax and crisis. In the present work, the roughly worked surface, wrought with faint lines, grooves and incisions, fills the sculpture with a raw intensity which is echoed by the movement of the horse as it falls to its knees, with its head twisted in despair, letting go of the formality of his previous works while not yet adopting the rigid geometry of his later sculpture.
For Marini, the increased drama and discord featuring in his horses and riders reflected a more universal crisis in the world. He wrote: "Personally, I no longer have the intention of celebrating the victory of a hero. I would like to express something tragic, almost the twilight of humanity, a defeat rather than a victory. If you consider, one after another, my statues...you will notice that each time the rider becomes less capable of mastering his horse and the animal becomes increasingly intractable and wilder instead of yielding. Quite seriously, I believe that we are approaching the end of the world." (quoted in H. Read, P. Waldberg and G. di San Lazzaro, op. cit., p. 491).
Dating from 1952, this horse depicts the dissolution of the monumental solidity which had characterized Marini's representation of the horse in earlier works. Only a few years earlier, Marini's horses had exuded a graceful presence as his riders sat steady on their backs, joined in a mystic union that spoke of tradition and stability. From 1951 onwards, however, Marini's work was dominated by a sense of climax and crisis. In the present work, the roughly worked surface, wrought with faint lines, grooves and incisions, fills the sculpture with a raw intensity which is echoed by the movement of the horse as it falls to its knees, with its head twisted in despair, letting go of the formality of his previous works while not yet adopting the rigid geometry of his later sculpture.
For Marini, the increased drama and discord featuring in his horses and riders reflected a more universal crisis in the world. He wrote: "Personally, I no longer have the intention of celebrating the victory of a hero. I would like to express something tragic, almost the twilight of humanity, a defeat rather than a victory. If you consider, one after another, my statues...you will notice that each time the rider becomes less capable of mastering his horse and the animal becomes increasingly intractable and wilder instead of yielding. Quite seriously, I believe that we are approaching the end of the world." (quoted in H. Read, P. Waldberg and G. di San Lazzaro, op. cit., p. 491).