ALBERTO MORROCCO R.S.A., R.S.W., R.P., R.G.I., L.L.D (1917-1998)
SALTIMBANCHI
£40,000
Auction: 8 December 2000 at 11:00 GMT
Description
Signed, oil on canvas,
157cm(62in) x 106.5cm(42in)
Footnote
Exhibited:Alberto Morrocco Retrospective, Dundee Art Galleries,1993
Alberto Morrocco Memorial Exhibition, The Scottish Gallery 1999
Literature:Morrocco, Victoria Keller and Clara Young, 1993, ill.pl.71
Provenance:The artist's family
Note;Morrocco's Saltimbanchi is a seminal and major work which marks the beginning of a 20 year fascination with the theme of acrobats and clowns. In the mid 1970's Morrocco was looking for a visual form to enable him to combine his pre-occupation with the human figure and still life and he began to use the theatrical conventions of the circus and Commedia Del'Arte as a vehicle fo this.
The painting can therefore be seen to successfully incorporate much of the imagery we associate with the artist.... melons, birds, dogs, etc, with a typically sympathetic approach to the human form. The artist himself considered the painting as a turning point in his development and continued to refer to it thoughout the remainder of his life.