Italian Divisionism in the 1890s: The forging of a modern identity.
Item
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Title
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Italian Divisionism in the 1890s: The forging of a modern identity.
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Identifier
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AAI3187382
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identifier
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3187382
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Creator
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Greene, Vivien.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Patricia Mainardi
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Date
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2005
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Art History
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Abstract
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The Divisionists created vibrant paintings distinguished by divided brushstrokes of individual pigment and curvilinear forms. Inspired by color and optical theories and, in many cases, socialist philosophy, these artists consciously aligned themselves with progress and modernity. I consider Divisionism within the larger context of the period in which it was produced and underscore how the Divisionists sought to create a new, distinctively Italian idiom in the wake of the country's recent 1870 unification.;The first generation of Divisionists, all from Northern Italy, were a loosely associated group of artists. They subscribed to a painting technique then becoming popular in Europe (especially among the Neo-Impressionists), and juxtaposed dashes of often complementary colors to fashion the illusion of single, more intense hues. By approaching their art from a background of positivist thought, they correlated the scientific basis of their technique to an expansive notion of progress. Those who were politically committed championed social reform in their paintings. Others pursued a Symbolist vein in their evocative alpine landscapes and metaphorical religious images and used art as an escape from contemporary life. Despite their adoption of a new painting method, the Divisionists' preference for large-scale compositions, their interest in modeled form and three-dimensional space, and their desire to articulate movement reflects their grounding in the traditions of their own artistic legacy and evidences the paradoxical nature of the movement.;At the time of Divisionism's inception, many Italians, divided by sharp regional differences, struggled to identify what constituted "Italy" as a nation. However, these divisions also prompted the desire for unifying structures. By the 1890s, as Italy began to have an industrial presence in Europe, conceptions of advancement and modernity intertwined with those of nationalism. Yet, this period was rife with contradictions regarding the possible negative effects of progress, the incursion of foreign influences upon Italy's cultural production, and the rupture with historically entrenched visual traditions. These phenomena were manifest within the Divisionist project. My interdisciplinary analysis of Divisionist painting explores these much-debated problematics and seeks to parse how Divisionism was linked to the polyvalenced questions of modernity, cultural definition, and national identity.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
