Mario Sironi. Synthesis and Grandeur at the Museo del Novecento

Pandora is in the halls of the Museo del Novecento, accompanied by several masterpieces which haven’t been seen in almost half-a-century. Along with this work, others such as Paese nella Valle (1928), Case e Alberi (1929), L’Abbeverata (1929-1930) and other works which have never been seen before, map out the entire career of Mario Sironi, from the early Symbolist works to his adhesion to Futurism, from his original interpretation of the metaphysical in 1919 to Apocalisse, painted just before his death. In all, 110 works make up the exhibition Mario Sironi. Sintesi e Grandiosità, retracing the career of the artist until his death 60 years ago. The series of urban landscapes, the most celebrated subject of the painter from Sassari, who gathered intensity after his arrival in Milan in 1919, expressing all the tribulations of the modern city, exploding off the canvas in works like Paesaggio Urbano col Tram and Periferia. The human figure, meanwhile, finds its way in Nudo of 1923, held dear by Margherita Sarfatti, the mysterious Donna con Vaso, the Pescatore and the painful Lazzaro where, for the first time in the history of this icon, Sironi paints a Lazzaro who doesn’t rise again, synthesising the collapse of his ideals, starting with Fascism to which he had initially adhered. Monumental masterpieces, such as the luminous Vittoria Alata are found in the last halls where the dramatic final years of the artist are remembered, including his torment connected to the death of his daughter Rossana who committed suicide in 1948 at 18 years of age.