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{{Short description|Painting by Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo}} |
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{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2021}} |
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{{Infobox artwork |
{{Infobox artwork |
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| image_file=Quarto_Stato.jpg |
| image_file=Quarto_Stato.jpg |
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| image_size=350px |
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| wikidata=Q1199809 |
| wikidata=Q1199809 |
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| title=The Fourth Estate |
| title=The Fourth Estate |
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| dimensions_ref={{r|Pucci|p=323}} |
| dimensions_ref={{r|Pucci|p=323}} |
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| city=[[Milan]] |
| city=[[Milan]] |
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| museum=[[Galleria d'Arte Moderna, Milan|Galleria d'Arte Moderna]] |
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| museum=[[The Museum of Twentieth Century (Museo del Novecento)|Museo del Novecento]] |
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'''''The Fourth Estate''''' ({{lang-it|[[:it:Il quarto stato|Il quarto stato]]}}) is an oil painting by [[Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo]], originally titled '''''The Path of Workers''''' and made between 1898 and 1901.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.museodelnovecento.org/en/mostra/GIUSEPPE%20PELLIZZA%20DA%20VOLPEDO%20AND%20THE%20FOURTH%20ESTATE|title=Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo and The Fourth Estate|last=Novecento|first=Museo del|website=www.museodelnovecento.org|language=en-gb|access-date=2019-01-25}}</ref> It depicts a moment during a [[Strike action|labor strike]] when workers' representatives calmly and confidently stride out of a crowd to negotiate for the workers' rights. Its name refers to the [[proletariat|working class]] as standing alongside the [[Estates of the realm|three traditional estates]] that divided power between the nobility, clergy, and commoners. |
'''''The Fourth Estate''''' ({{lang-it|[[:it:Il quarto stato|Il quarto stato]]}}) is an oil painting by [[Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo]], originally titled '''''The Path of Workers''''' and made between 1898 and 1901.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.museodelnovecento.org/en/mostra/GIUSEPPE%20PELLIZZA%20DA%20VOLPEDO%20AND%20THE%20FOURTH%20ESTATE|title=Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo and The Fourth Estate|last=Novecento|first=Museo del|website=www.museodelnovecento.org|language=en-gb|access-date=2019-01-25|archive-date=January 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190126060830/http://www.museodelnovecento.org/en/mostra/GIUSEPPE%20PELLIZZA%20DA%20VOLPEDO%20AND%20THE%20FOURTH%20ESTATE|url-status=live}}</ref> It depicts a moment during a [[Strike action|labor strike]] when workers' representatives calmly and confidently stride out of a crowd to negotiate for the workers' rights. Its name refers to the [[proletariat|working class]] as standing alongside the [[Estates of the realm|three traditional estates]] that divided power between the nobility, clergy, and commoners. |
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Pellizza made three separate large-scale preliminary versions of the work to experiment with his [[Divisionism# |
Pellizza made three separate large-scale preliminary versions of the work to experiment with his [[Divisionism#Divisionism in Italy|divisionist]] representations of color. After his death, ''The Fourth Estate'' became a popular Italian socialist image and was reproduced extensively despite its initial shunning by formal art circles. Over time, its acclaim grew until it became recognized as one of the most important Italian paintings of the turn of the 20th century. The painting is now at the [[Galleria d'Arte Moderna, Milan|Galleria d'Arte Moderna]] in Milan. |
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==History== |
==History== |
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Pellizza began to work on a study for ''Ambasciatori della Fame'' (''Ambassadors of Hunger'') in 1891, after participating in a workers' protest in Turin. The scene made such an impression on him that he noted it in his diary: |
Pellizza began to work on a study for ''Ambasciatori della Fame'' (''Ambassadors of Hunger'') in 1891, after participating in a workers' protest in Turin. The scene made such an impression on him that he noted it in his diary: |
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|text=This social question imposes. Many are dedicated to it and study it swiftly to resolve it. Even art should not be alienated from this movement to a destination that is still unknown but which is understood to be better than present conditions.{{r|ScottiJournal|p=2|q=«La questione sociale s'impone; molti si son dedicati ad essa e studiano alacremente per risolverla. Anche l'arte non dev'essere estranea a questo movimento verso una meta che è ancora un'incognita ma che pure si intuisce dover essere migliore a petto delle condizioni presenti»}} |
|text=This social question imposes. Many are dedicated to it and study it swiftly to resolve it. Even art should not be alienated from this movement to a destination that is still unknown but which is understood to be better than present conditions.{{r|ScottiJournal|p=2|q=«La questione sociale s'impone; molti si son dedicati ad essa e studiano alacremente per risolverla. Anche l'arte non dev'essere estranea a questo movimento verso una meta che è ancora un'incognita ma che pure si intuisce dover essere migliore a petto delle condizioni presenti»}} |
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The first sketch was completed in April 1891. The subject was a workers' revolt in Piazza Malaspina in [[Volpedo]], with three subjects placed at the front of the protest. The scene is viewed from above, and the figures are distributed on orthogonal lines. This core composition remained in successive versions of the work, each of which presents the three figures in front of a mass of people in the background and a dark backdrop.{{r|Bußmann}} The shadow stretching out to the ambassador's feet is likely the palazzo on Piazza Malaspina, where the workers are going to make their demands.{{r|Puppo|p=144}} |
The first sketch was completed in April 1891. The subject was a workers' revolt in Piazza Malaspina in [[Volpedo]], with three subjects placed at the front of the protest. The scene is viewed from above, and the figures are distributed on orthogonal lines. This core composition remained in successive versions of the work, each of which presents the three figures in front of a mass of people in the background and a dark backdrop.{{r|Bußmann}} The shadow stretching out to the ambassador's feet is likely the palazzo on Piazza Malaspina, where the workers are going to make their demands.{{r|Puppo|p=144}} |
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Pellizza made numerous other intermediary works between the first drawing of ''Ambasciatori della Fame'' and ''Fiumana''. He also made ''Piazza Malaspina a Volpedo'' in 1891, which represents the topography of Volpedo as a preparatory background for the subsequent versions.{{r|ScottiBook|p=169}} He made two other versions of ''Ambasciatori della Fame'', one dated 1892 and the other 1895. The 1892 sketch is similar to the first. However, Pellizza added a group of women to the 1892 drawing, who are juxtaposed with the male workers.{{r|ScottiBook|p=356|q=«il tipo di colore usato, limpido, ma distribuito ancora per masse, e la tersità e saturazione luminosa ottenuta pur senza usare il colore diviso. [...] Ambasciatori della fame che, sottolineando il sicuro incedere del gruppo, poteva anche idealmente allargarsi ai moti del 1888-90 contro gli aumenti del pane e la disoccupazione seguita alla grave crisi agraria. Se già nel disegno (Gruppo di contadini, 1891) le bandiere avevano lasciato il posto agli attrezzi agricoli, visibili sullo sfondo, nel bozzetto (Ambasciatori della fame, 1891) anche questi erano scomparsi e solo alle figure era affidata la precisa rappresentazione di un momento della lotta di classe, con più forza di quanto fosse fatto dalla stessa stampa socialista. Il quadro diventa così il momento in cui Pellizza poteva saldare esperienza e opera individuale a esperienze e partecipazione collettiva» |
Pellizza made numerous other intermediary works between the first drawing of ''Ambasciatori della Fame'' and ''Fiumana''. He also made ''Piazza Malaspina a Volpedo'' in 1891, which represents the topography of Volpedo as a preparatory background for the subsequent versions.{{r|ScottiBook|p=169}} He made two other versions of ''Ambasciatori della Fame'', one dated 1892 and the other 1895. The 1892 sketch is similar to the first. However, Pellizza added a group of women to the 1892 drawing, who are juxtaposed with the male workers.{{r|ScottiBook|p=356|q=«il tipo di colore usato, limpido, ma distribuito ancora per masse, e la tersità e saturazione luminosa ottenuta pur senza usare il colore diviso. [...] Ambasciatori della fame che, sottolineando il sicuro incedere del gruppo, poteva anche idealmente allargarsi ai moti del 1888-90 contro gli aumenti del pane e la disoccupazione seguita alla grave crisi agraria. Se già nel disegno (Gruppo di contadini, 1891) le bandiere avevano lasciato il posto agli attrezzi agricoli, visibili sullo sfondo, nel bozzetto (Ambasciatori della fame, 1891) anche questi erano scomparsi e solo alle figure era affidata la precisa rappresentazione di un momento della lotta di classe, con più forza di quanto fosse fatto dalla stessa stampa socialista. Il quadro diventa così il momento in cui Pellizza poteva saldare esperienza e opera individuale a esperienze e partecipazione collettiva»}} |
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[[File:Giuseppe Pellizza.jpg|thumb|upright|Photograph of [[Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo]]]] |
[[File:Giuseppe Pellizza.jpg|thumb|upright|Photograph of [[Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo]]]] |
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The last draft before ''La Fiumana'' is the 1895 version of ''Ambasciatori'', created after three quiet years on brown paper as a charcoal and gesso drawing. Pelliza wrote of it: |
The last draft before ''La Fiumana'' is the 1895 version of ''Ambasciatori'', created after three quiet years on brown paper as a charcoal and gesso drawing. Pelliza wrote of it: |
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|text=The ambassadors are two that advance, seriously, across the little piazza toward the noble palazzo that projects the shadow at their feet [...] Hunger advances with its multiple poses—they are men, women, the old, the young: all hungry to go and reclaim that which is their right–serene and calm, at rest, as those who know to ask more or less for what they are owed—they have suffered greatly. The hour of ransom has arrived, so they think, but they do not wish to obtain it with force, but with reason. Someone could raise a fist in an act of menace, but not this crowd, with him. They trust their ambassadors—the intelligent men. [...] A woman hurries to show her emaciated child; another, a third, is trying in vain to breastfeed her child—another shouts curses.{{r|ScottiBook2|p=356|q=«Gli ambasciatori sono due si avanzon seri sulla piazzetta verso il palazzo del signor che proietta l'ombra ai loro piedi [...] si avanza la fame coi i suoi atteggiamenti molteplici |
|text=The ambassadors are two that advance, seriously, across the little piazza toward the noble palazzo that projects the shadow at their feet [...] Hunger advances with its multiple poses—they are men, women, the old, the young: all hungry to go and reclaim that which is their right–serene and calm, at rest, as those who know to ask more or less for what they are owed—they have suffered greatly. The hour of ransom has arrived, so they think, but they do not wish to obtain it with force, but with reason. Someone could raise a fist in an act of menace, but not this crowd, with him. They trust their ambassadors—the intelligent men. [...] A woman hurries to show her emaciated child; another, a third, is trying in vain to breastfeed her child—another shouts curses.{{r|ScottiBook2|p=356|q=«Gli ambasciatori sono due si avanzon seri sulla piazzetta verso il palazzo del signor che proietta l'ombra ai loro piedi [...] si avanza la fame coi i suoi atteggiamenti molteplici – Son uomini, donne, vecchi, bambini: affamati tutti che vengono a reclamare ciò che di diritto – sereni e calmi, del resto, come chi sa di domandare ne più ne meno di quel che gli spetta – essi hanno sofferto assai, è giunta l'ora del riscatto, così pensano e non vogliono ottenere colla forza, ma colla ragione – qualcuno potrà alzare il pugno in atto di minaccia ma la folla non è, con lui, essa fida nei suoi ambasciatori – gli uomini intelligenti [...] Una donna accorso mostra il macilento bambino, un'altra, una terza, è per terra che tenta invano di allattare il bambino sfinito colle mammelle sterili – un'altra chiama impreca [...]»}} |
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In the passage above, the artist underlined his wish to follow a general theory: not only to represent the citizens of Volpedo, but also an entire part of society that has "suffered greatly" and that intends to claim its rights through a struggle "serene, calm, and reasoned."{{r|Bußmann}}{{r|ScottiBook2|p=356|q=«compare molto chiaramente anche la visione positiva dell'approccio al tema sociale nell'indicazione della rivendicazione specifica di un diritto da parte dei lavoratori e nel rifiuto di azioni di lotta e di forza violente. È questo atteggiamento che improntò tutto il pensiero politico e l' ideologia socialista di Pellizza e che comportò anche il rifiuto di connotazioni specifiche dei lavoratori con gesti di protesta con attrezzi o con altri elementi che facessero riferimento specifico alla loro professione, per puntare sulla umanità delle figure e sul loro ineluttabile diritto a non morire di fame in quanto uomini prima di lavoratori»}} |
In the passage above, the artist underlined his wish to follow a general theory: not only to represent the citizens of Volpedo, but also an entire part of society that has "suffered greatly" and that intends to claim its rights through a struggle "serene, calm, and reasoned."{{r|Bußmann}}{{r|ScottiBook2|p=356|q=«compare molto chiaramente anche la visione positiva dell'approccio al tema sociale nell'indicazione della rivendicazione specifica di un diritto da parte dei lavoratori e nel rifiuto di azioni di lotta e di forza violente. È questo atteggiamento che improntò tutto il pensiero politico e l' ideologia socialista di Pellizza e che comportò anche il rifiuto di connotazioni specifiche dei lavoratori con gesti di protesta con attrezzi o con altri elementi che facessero riferimento specifico alla loro professione, per puntare sulla umanità delle figure e sul loro ineluttabile diritto a non morire di fame in quanto uomini prima di lavoratori»}} |
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[[File:Paolo Monti - Servizio fotografico (Alessandria, 1981) - BEIC 6354001.jpg|thumb|Detail of ''La Fiumana'']] |
[[File:Paolo Monti - Servizio fotografico (Alessandria, 1981) - BEIC 6354001.jpg|thumb|Detail of ''La Fiumana'']] |
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Pellizza also used a different range of color in ''La Fiumana'' than in earlier versions. This time, he played with "contrasts of yellow and red, with the dominant ones in the earthy, sulfuric figures and the tones of blue to green in the background, where the sky is of a more intense, stronger azure blue and the green of plants is reflected on the ground."{{r|ScottiBook2|p=357|q=«Proprio nel corso dell'agosto 1895 Pellizza decise di passare al nuovo titolo, che doveva alludere alla maggior massa di gente alle spalle dei primi protagonisti, massa che puntualmente ritroviamo in questa tela. Rispetto ai bozzetti precedenti Pellizza ha però eliminato lo stacco d |
Pellizza also used a different range of color in ''La Fiumana'' than in earlier versions. This time, he played with "contrasts of yellow and red, with the dominant ones in the earthy, sulfuric figures and the tones of blue to green in the background, where the sky is of a more intense, stronger azure blue and the green of plants is reflected on the ground."{{r|ScottiBook2|p=357|q=«Proprio nel corso dell'agosto 1895 Pellizza decise di passare al nuovo titolo, che doveva alludere alla maggior massa di gente alle spalle dei primi protagonisti, massa che puntualmente ritroviamo in questa tela. Rispetto ai bozzetti precedenti Pellizza ha però eliminato lo stacco d'ombra in primo piano, portando quindi avanti le figure; in conseguenza queste sembrano anche riprese meno dall'alto ed hanno una massa leggermente più slanciata.»}}{{r|ScottiBook3|p=42,47|q=The definition of forms was accompanied by a new kind of chromatic research for Pellizza that, like the oil study, would replace the large, clear planes of color with intense key tones dominated by yellowish browns and greenish blues, 'sulfurous' according to Pellizza, capable of translating the epic image of 'The advance of the workers.' «La definizione delle forme si era accompagnata immediatamente per il pittore anche a una nuova ricerca cromatica generale che, come già nel bozzetto a olio, doveva sostituire agli ampi e tersi piani di colori chiavi intense tonalità a dominanti giallo-bruno e verdi-bluastre, sulfuree, secondo la definizione di Pellizza, atte a tradurre un'immagine epica 'L'avanzata dei lavoratori'»}} The result is a much darker palette, compared to the light tones in ''Ambasciatori''.{{r|Puppo|p=145}} |
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The shadow in the front of the earlier versions is no longer present, and the crowd is placed further forward and emphasized with a lower viewpoint. Likewise, the architectural elements have been reduced or removed.{{r|Puppo|p=145}} The pleading figure at right has been replaced by woman holding a baby in her arms; she stands slightly behind the other two workers{{r|Bußmann}} and represents the inclusion of women as deserving of workers' rights.{{r|Puppo|p=146}} |
The shadow in the front of the earlier versions is no longer present, and the crowd is placed further forward and emphasized with a lower viewpoint. Likewise, the architectural elements have been reduced or removed.{{r|Puppo|p=145}} The pleading figure at right has been replaced by woman holding a baby in her arms; she stands slightly behind the other two workers{{r|Bußmann}} and represents the inclusion of women as deserving of workers' rights.{{r|Puppo|p=146}} |
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Thanks to the various drawings, preparatory studies, and |
Thanks to the various drawings, preparatory studies, and photographs of the models in pose,{{r|ScottiBook3|p=177}} Pellizza was able to draft the definitive version of ''Fiumana'' in July 1895. The variants multiplied: the countryside underwent changes, while the line of figures in the back was made thinner or set further back, permitting the insertion of more figures. Pellizza's goal was to restore the vitality of a people that were no longer "a natural death, but a living, palpable mass, full of humble hopes or dark menace."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lamberti |first1=Maria Mimita |title=Pellizza da Volpedo e il Quarto Stato, Storia dell'arte italiana, seconda parte |page=88}}</ref> |
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Pellizza tried to give ''Fiumana'' a universal scope, exemplified in a poem he wrote on the margin of the canvas: |
Pellizza tried to give ''Fiumana'' a universal scope, exemplified in a poem he wrote on the margin of the canvas: |
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the river of Humanity thirsty |
the river of Humanity thirsty |
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for justice – the justice trampled until now |
for justice – the justice trampled until now |
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and now a distant mirage shines.<ref name=Fiori>{{cite book |last1=Fiori |first1=Teresa |title=Archivi del Divisionismo |date=1968 |publisher=Officina Edizioni |location=Rome |page=198 |language= |
and now a distant mirage shines.<ref name=Fiori>{{cite book |last1=Fiori |first1=Teresa |last2=Bellonzi |first2=Fortunato |title=Archivi del Divisionismo |date=1968 |publisher=Officina Edizioni |location=Rome |page=198 |language=it |oclc=859590445}}</ref>}} |
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===1898–1901: ''Il Quarto Stato''=== |
===1898–1901: ''Il Quarto Stato''=== |
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[[File:Giuseppe pellizza, cartone per il quarto stato, 1898-99, 02.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|1898–1899 study on paper for ''Il Quarto Stato'']] |
[[File:Giuseppe pellizza, cartone per il quarto stato, 1898-99, 02.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|1898–1899 study on paper for ''Il Quarto Stato'']] |
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[[File:Studio di figura maschile, Pellizza.png|thumb|Study of a male figure for ''Fourth Estate'', Pellizza, 1898, charcoal on paper]] |
[[File:Studio di figura maschile, Pellizza.png|thumb|Study of a male figure for ''Fourth Estate'', Pellizza, 1898, charcoal on paper]] |
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Dissatisfied with the technical artistic effect of ''Fiumana'' but also in light of the brutal [[Bava Beccaris massacre]] in Milan, Pellizza decided in 1898 to make the work for a third time on "the greatest |
Dissatisfied with the technical artistic effect of ''Fiumana'' but also in light of the brutal [[Bava Beccaris massacre]] in Milan, Pellizza decided in 1898 to make the work for a third time on "the greatest manifesto that the Italian proletariat could boast between the 19th and 20th century."{{r|ScottiBook3|p=44|q=It was in this year [1898] that Pellizza withdrew, but not to isolate himself from unfolding current events: he began the greatest manifesto that the Italian proletariat could boast between the 19th and 20th century. «Proprio in quell'anno Pellizza appartato, ma non per questo isolato dallo svolgersi della storia, iniziava il più grande manifesto che il proletariato italiano possa vantare fra l'Otto e il Novecento»}} His objectives were to render the crowd more tumultuous and impetuous, forming "a wedge towards the observer", and to perfect the chromatic values.{{r|ScottiBook|p=42}} |
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For these reasons, he made a smaller work, ''Il Cammino dei Lavoratori'' ("The Path of the Workers"), in 1898. In this preparatory drawing, he gave greater relief to the gestures of the workers, enriching their realism. For example, the woman worker in the front now gestures with her left hand, whereas in ''Fiumana'' she held her baby in both arms. The figures in the background express uncertainty or seem to be talking amongst themselves.{{r|Puppo|p=150, |
For these reasons, he made a smaller work, ''Il Cammino dei Lavoratori'' ("The Path of the Workers"), in 1898. In this preparatory drawing, he gave greater relief to the gestures of the workers, enriching their realism. For example, the woman worker in the front now gestures with her left hand, whereas in ''Fiumana'' she held her baby in both arms. The figures in the background express uncertainty or seem to be talking amongst themselves.{{r|Puppo|p=150,152}} The first row of workers are delineated with greater plasticity, "while embedding, like a river, the final part of the array, under a sky articulated with serene spaces and turbulent clouds."{{r|ScottiBook2|p=409}} |
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This dynamism was also translated in work's palette, which returned to a cold range of colors that included rosy ochres, arranged with small brushstrokes of little lines and points.{{r|ScottiBook2|p=380|q= |
This dynamism was also translated in work's palette, which returned to a cold range of colors that included rosy ochres, arranged with small brushstrokes of little lines and points.{{r|ScottiBook2|p=380|q=The figures repeat the attitudes studied for "Fiumana" but accentuate the gestures and the movement of the hands in search of a greater eloquence and gestural expressivity. The color is set on a range cold and clear, with richness of rosy ochres that exalt the play of the light and drafts all the first plan, in a larger clearing, with dynamic, accumulated signs. The crowd in the background is more precise, and seems like the teeming mass present in "Fiumana". The design is squared for the necessary translation onto the larger canvas. «Le figure ripetono gli atteggiamenti studiati per "Fiumana", ma accentuando i gesti e il moto delle mani alla ricerca di un maggior eloquenza ed espressività gestuale. Il colore è impostato su una gamma calda e chiara, con ricchezza di ocra-rosati che esalta il gioco delle luci e si stende in tutto primo piano, nell'ampio spiazzo, con segni dinamici e accumulati. Più imprecisa la folla sullo sfondo in cui sembra di vedere la massa brulicante presente in "Fiumana". Il bozzetto è quadrettato per il necessario riporto delle proporzioni sulla tela maggiore»}} This is the [[post-Impressionist]] technique of [[divisionism]], which tried to take a more scientific approach to color and became a national Italian art style.{{r|Parks}} |
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The technical picture is explained by Pellizza in a letter of May |
The technical picture is explained by Pellizza in a letter of May 18, 1898, sent to his friend Mucchi: |
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|text= The theory of contrasts helps me, that the complements and the division of color depend on the purpose that I set for myself in my works. All the science regarding light and colors arouse in me a particular interest: with it, I can understand what I make. [...] For this aim, I make my attempts presently; and, in the hope of reaching better results, I make preliminary studies to better determine in my mind what I wish to do. Then I draw cartoons of gesso on canvas. On this, I apply the prepared color, and therefore I look to finish each detail of the painting from life. And for the result, its production will not be in all the points, nor all the lines, nor all the [[impasto]], and not even all that is smooth or all that is rough; but as varied as are the various appearances of the objects in nature and the joining of forms with the colors in "a speaking harmony" (this being the supreme goal), an idea in the mind or a feeling in the heart.{{r|Fiori|p=211|q=«Mi giova la teoria dei contrasti, quella dei complementari e la divisione del colore a seconda dello scopo che mi prefiggo nei miei lavori. Tutta la scienza riguardante la luce ed i colori mi desta un particolare interesse: per essa posso avere coscienza di quel che faccio. [...] A questo mirano i tentativi che faccio presentemente; e, nella speranza di approdare i miglior risultato, faccio studi preliminari per ben determinare nella mente quello che voglio fare; poi disegno i cartoni da calcare sulla tela, su questa applico il colore di preparazione addirittura a posto, quindi cerco di finire ogni particolare del quadro dal vero. E nel risultato la fattura non dovrebbe essere né tutta a puntini, né tutta a lineette, né tutta ad impasto; e nemmeno o tutta liscia, o tutta scabrosa; ma varie come sono varie le apparenze dagli oggetti nella natura, e raggiunger con le forme e con i colori "un'armonia parlante" (questo sarebbe il supremo scopo), un'idea alla mente od un sentimento al cuore»}} |
|text= The theory of contrasts helps me, that the complements and the division of color depend on the purpose that I set for myself in my works. All the science regarding light and colors arouse in me a particular interest: with it, I can understand what I make. [...] For this aim, I make my attempts presently; and, in the hope of reaching better results, I make preliminary studies to better determine in my mind what I wish to do. Then I draw cartoons of gesso on canvas. On this, I apply the prepared color, and therefore I look to finish each detail of the painting from life. And for the result, its production will not be in all the points, nor all the lines, nor all the [[impasto]], and not even all that is smooth or all that is rough; but as varied as are the various appearances of the objects in nature and the joining of forms with the colors in "a speaking harmony" (this being the supreme goal), an idea in the mind or a feeling in the heart.{{r|Fiori|p=211|q=«Mi giova la teoria dei contrasti, quella dei complementari e la divisione del colore a seconda dello scopo che mi prefiggo nei miei lavori. Tutta la scienza riguardante la luce ed i colori mi desta un particolare interesse: per essa posso avere coscienza di quel che faccio. [...] A questo mirano i tentativi che faccio presentemente; e, nella speranza di approdare i miglior risultato, faccio studi preliminari per ben determinare nella mente quello che voglio fare; poi disegno i cartoni da calcare sulla tela, su questa applico il colore di preparazione addirittura a posto, quindi cerco di finire ogni particolare del quadro dal vero. E nel risultato la fattura non dovrebbe essere né tutta a puntini, né tutta a lineette, né tutta ad impasto; e nemmeno o tutta liscia, o tutta scabrosa; ma varie come sono varie le apparenze dagli oggetti nella natura, e raggiunger con le forme e con i colori "un'armonia parlante" (questo sarebbe il supremo scopo), un'idea alla mente od un sentimento al cuore»}} |
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With ''Il Camino dei Lavoratori'', Pellizza's social aim for the picture changed, as he adopted Italian socialist [[proletarian]] culture. The depiction was no longer of a "human river," but of "men of labor" who struggled for universal rights as part of the class struggle. Also, unlike in previous versions, the figures of ''Il Cammino dei Lavoratori'' are individuated and identifiable.{{r|Puppo|p=144}} The workers' step toward the observer is not violent; it is slow, with a calmness that gives a sense of invincibility.{{r|Bußmann}} This sense of inevitability matches Pellizza's belief in the gradual transformation of Italy into a socialist society.{{r|Puppo|p=148}} |
With ''Il Camino dei Lavoratori'', Pellizza's social aim for the picture changed, as he adopted Italian socialist [[proletarian]] culture. The depiction was no longer of a "human river," but of "men of labor" who struggled for universal rights as part of the class struggle. Also, unlike in previous versions, the figures of ''Il Cammino dei Lavoratori'' are individuated and identifiable.{{r|Puppo|p=144}} The workers' step toward the observer is not violent; it is slow, with a calmness that gives a sense of invincibility.{{r|Bußmann}} This sense of inevitability matches Pellizza's belief in the gradual transformation of Italy into a socialist society.{{r|Puppo|p=148}} |
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The drafting of ''Il Cammino dei Lavoratori'' took three years. Pellizza was able to finish painting in 1901, and when the work was complete he decided to give it a new title—''Il Quarto Stato''{{r|ScottiBook|p=188-89,193-94}}—to refer to the [[#Name|Fourth Estate]], the working class. |
The drafting of ''Il Cammino dei Lavoratori'' took three years. Pellizza was able to finish painting in 1901, and when the work was complete he decided to give it a new title—''Il Quarto Stato''{{r|ScottiBook|p=188-89,193-94}}—to refer to the [[#Name|Fourth Estate]], the working class. This decision is attributed to Pellizza's discussion with a friend, Arzano, about their reading of ''Storia della rivoluzione francese'' by [[Jean Jaurès]], which stated the third estate comprised both the bourgeois and the proletariat.{{r|ScottiBook3|p=16|q=The choice was prompted, after talks with his friend Arzano about a rereading of the Storia della rivoluzione frances by Jean Jaures that had emphasized the coexistence, in the third estate, of two components: one bourgeois and one proletarian. «La scelta era scaturita, dopo discussioni con l'amico Arzano, a una rilettura della Storia della rivoluzione francese di Jean Jaures che aveva puntualizzato la compresenza, nel terzo stato, di due componenti, una borghese e una proletaria.»}} |
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==Description and style== |
==Description and style== |
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[[File:Quarto Stato (Volpedo) Detail.jpg|thumb|Detail of ''The Fourth Estate'']] |
[[File:Quarto Stato (Volpedo) Detail.jpg|thumb|Detail of ''The Fourth Estate'']] |
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Considered a symbol of the 20th century, artistically and socially, ''The Fourth Estate'' depicts a workers' [[strike action|strike]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.flashartonline.com/article/giuseppe-pellizza-da-volpedo-the-fourth-estate-1901/|title=Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo |
Considered a symbol of the 20th century, artistically and socially, ''The Fourth Estate'' depicts a workers' [[strike action|strike]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.flashartonline.com/article/giuseppe-pellizza-da-volpedo-the-fourth-estate-1901/|title=Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo: The Fourth Estate (1901)|last=Stone|first=Eric Golo|date=21 October 2015|website=Flash Art|language=en-US|access-date=2019-01-25|archive-date=January 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190126000751/https://www.flashartonline.com/article/giuseppe-pellizza-da-volpedo-the-fourth-estate-1901/|url-status=live}}</ref> The divisionist style is used to depict the strikers walking casually towards the light, with their shadows behind them. The painting represents the full development of this theme from Pellizza's preparatory studies.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/the-ambassadors-of-hunger-by-giuseppe-pelizza-da-volpedo-stock-graphic/146267426|title=The Ambassadors of Hunger by Giuseppe Pelizza da Volpedo, oil on canvas.|website=Getty Images|language=en-us|access-date=2019-01-25|archive-date=January 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190126001043/https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/the-ambassadors-of-hunger-by-giuseppe-pelizza-da-volpedo-stock-graphic/146267426|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/stream-of-people-1896-by-giuseppe-pellizza-da-volpedo-study-news-photo/860529576|title=Stream of people, 1896 by Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo. Study for The Fourth Estate.|website=Getty Images|language=en-us|access-date=2019-01-25|archive-date=January 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190126001104/https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/stream-of-people-1896-by-giuseppe-pellizza-da-volpedo-study-news-photo/860529576|url-status=live}}</ref> The composition of the painting is balanced in its shapes and vibrant in its light, giving force to the mass movement it depicts. |
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The painting's laborers march in a piazza, presumably Piazza Malaspina in Volpedo. The procession's advance is not violent, but slow and sure, to suggest their inevitable victory. It was Pellizza's intention to give life to "a mass of people, of laborers of the earth who, intelligent, strong, robust, and united, advance like a river that floods each obstacle in its way to reassume a place of equilibrium."{{r|Pellizza|p=7}} While Pellizza first wished only to draw a street demonstration, as had been represented in other works of the time (such as ''La Piazza Caricamento a Genova'' by [[Plinio Nomellini|Nomellini]] and ''The Orator of the Strike'' by [[Emilio Longoni|Longoni]]),<ref>{{cite book |title=Arte e socialità in Italia dal realismo al simbolismo 1865-1915 |date=1979 |publisher=Palazzo della Permanente |location=Milan}}</ref> in later versions his intent changed to celebrating the imposition of the working classes, the "Fourth Estate," on the [[bourgeoisie]] class.{{r|Pasqualone}} |
The painting's laborers march in a piazza, presumably Piazza Malaspina in Volpedo. The procession's advance is not violent, but slow and sure, to suggest their inevitable victory. It was Pellizza's intention to give life to "a mass of people, of laborers of the earth who, intelligent, strong, robust, and united, advance like a river that floods each obstacle in its way to reassume a place of equilibrium."{{r|Pellizza|p=7}} While Pellizza first wished only to draw a street demonstration, as had been represented in other works of the time (such as ''La Piazza Caricamento a Genova'' by [[Plinio Nomellini|Nomellini]] and ''The Orator of the Strike'' by [[Emilio Longoni|Longoni]]),<ref>{{cite book |title=Arte e socialità in Italia dal realismo al simbolismo 1865-1915 |date=1979 |publisher=Palazzo della Permanente |location=Milan |oclc=915809114}}</ref> in later versions his intent changed to celebrating the imposition of the working classes, the "Fourth Estate," on the [[bourgeoisie]] class.{{r|Pasqualone}} |
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In the foreground of the image, there are three definite subjects: two men and a woman with a baby in her arms. The woman, whom Pellizza modeled on his wife Teresa, has bare feet and invites the demonstrators to follow her with an eloquent gesture. The folds of her dress show forward movement. To her right is probably the main protagonist of the scene: a "man of 35, fiery and intelligent, a laborer" (as Pelliza described him).{{r|Zimmermann|p=391}} He has one hand in his pants pocket and the other carries a jacket thrown over his shoulder; he proceeds with ease and strength. To his right is another man who advances mute and pensive, with a jacket falling over his left shoulder.{{r|Pasqualone}} |
In the foreground of the image, there are three definite subjects: two men and a woman with a baby in her arms. The woman, whom Pellizza modeled on his wife Teresa, has bare feet and invites the demonstrators to follow her with an eloquent gesture. The folds of her dress show forward movement. To her right is probably the main protagonist of the scene: a "man of 35, fiery and intelligent, a laborer" (as Pelliza described him).{{r|Zimmermann|p=391}} He has one hand in his pants pocket and the other carries a jacket thrown over his shoulder; he proceeds with ease and strength. To his right is another man who advances mute and pensive, with a jacket falling over his left shoulder.{{r|Pasqualone}} |
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The other protestors take up around a fifth of the painting's frontal plane |
The other protestors take up around a fifth of the painting's frontal plane. They all display natural gestures: some carry babies in their arms, others use their hands to block the sun from their eyes, and some simply look straight ahead. Their figures are spread out horizontally, following a [[Parataxis|paratactic]] composition. On the one hand, this compositional solution recalls classical [[frieze]]s. On the other, it evokes the realistic scene of a street demonstration.{{r|Pasqualone|q=The horizontal placement of the figures in a paratactic composition, on the one hand, refers to the classical solution of friezes and, on the other, a very realistic situation, that seems to directly recreate an episode of social protest. «Lo schieramento orizzontale delle figure, sviluppate secondo la composizione paratattica, rinvia da un lato, alla soluzione classica del fregio, dall'altro a una situazione molto realistica, che sembra ripresa direttamente da un episodio di protesta sociale.»}} As described by art critic Maresa Sottile, through this combination, Pellizza "harmoniously joined the values of ancient classical civility to the modern consciousness of one's own civil rights."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sottile |first1=Maresa |title=Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo |journal=Albatros |date=December 2018 |issue=194 |url=https://www.albatrosmagazine.net/coverstory/allegoria-sociale |access-date=5 February 2021 |language=it |archive-date=August 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814124238/https://www.albatrosmagazine.net/coverstory/allegoria-sociale |url-status=live }}</ref> Pellizza married the demonstration to images reminiscent of Renaissance artworks, which directly inspired him through the expressiveness of figures in masterpieces like ''[[The School of Athens]]'' by [[Raphael]]{{r|Pasqualone}} and ''[[The Last Supper (Leonardo)|The Last Supper]]'' by [[Leonardo da Vinci]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Senesi |first1=Andrea |title=Il Quarto Stato torni a Palazzo Marino |url=http://milano.corriere.it/notizie/cronaca/11_agosto_18/20110818MIL03_02-1901313786311.shtml |access-date=17 January 2021 |work=milano.corriere.it |publisher=Corriere Milano |date=18 August 2011 |language=Italian |archive-date=January 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128060241/https://milano.corriere.it/notizie/cronaca/11_agosto_18/20110818MIL03_02-1901313786311.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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The painting is in the divisionist style, which was popular in early [[20th-century art|20th century]] Italy. The style, similar to the earlier [[pointillism]], uses the juxtaposition of individual points of color to create new chromatic experiences, rather than mixing paints before they reach the canvas.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theartpostblog.com/en/divisionism/|title=Divisionism: The origin of modern painting in Italy|date=2016-06-23|website=The Art Post Blog: Art and Artists Italian Blog|language=en-US|access-date=2019-01-25}}</ref> It was believed that this led to the most natural depiction of light possible, through the scientific application of color.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/history-of-art/italian-divisionism.htm|title=Italian Divisionism, Neo-Impressionism in Italy|website=www.visual-arts-cork.com |
The painting is in the divisionist style, which was popular in early [[20th-century art|20th century]] Italy. The style, similar to the earlier [[pointillism]], uses the juxtaposition of individual points of color to create new chromatic experiences, rather than mixing paints before they reach the canvas.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theartpostblog.com/en/divisionism/|title=Divisionism: The origin of modern painting in Italy|date=2016-06-23|website=The Art Post Blog: Art and Artists Italian Blog|language=en-US|access-date=2019-01-25|archive-date=January 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190126000821/https://www.theartpostblog.com/en/divisionism/|url-status=live}}</ref> It was believed that this led to the most natural depiction of light possible, through the scientific application of color.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/history-of-art/italian-divisionism.htm|title=Italian Divisionism, Neo-Impressionism in Italy|website=Visual Arts Cork|access-date=2019-01-25|archive-date=January 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190123150033/http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/history-of-art/italian-divisionism.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Art critic de Puppo also believes that the use of unmixed colors to generate the entire painting's palette has affinity with its theme of "organized masses of people."{{r|Puppo|p=142}} |
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== Models == |
== Models == |
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[[File:Modelli Quarto Stato.png|600px|The models who posed for the making of ''The Fourth Estate''. The numbers correspond to the text of the paragraph]] |
[[File:Modelli Quarto Stato.png|thumb|center|600px|The models who posed for the making of ''The Fourth Estate''. The numbers correspond to the text of the paragraph]] |
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⚫ | |||
⚫ | :[[File:Paris transit icons - Métro 1.svg|20px|link=]]: Giovanni Zarri,{{r|ScottiBook3|p=56}} called Gioanon, born on December 3, 1854, in Volpedo to Angiola Regiza.{{r|Crosetti}} He began his carpentry business at a young age. He married Luigina Belloni, with whom he had eight children, and they moved to via Ferzina 13 in Volpedo, where he lived until his death on October 30, 1910. This figure was also partly modeled on Giovanni Gatti, the pharmacist in Volpedo, whom Pellizza enjoyed discussing socialism with.{{r|Crosetti}} |
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⚫ | Many characters depicted in the painting are modeled after friends of the artist, socialist activists, and natives of [[Volpedo]]. The woman in the forefront holding a baby is based on Teresa Bidone, the artist's wife |
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:[[File:Paris m 2 jms.svg|20px|link=]]: Teresa Bidone,{{r|ScottiBook3|p=56|q=There are no remaining studies for the figure of the woman, but the attribution is proved by one of Pellizza's tissue-paper drawings, used to transfer the figure onto the canvas with exact proportions and light values. «Non ci è rimasto nessun disegno per la figura di donna, ma la sua esistenza ci e provata dalla corrispondente velina, eseguita per trasporre la figura sulla tela con esatte proporzioni e rapporti luminosi.»}} daughter of Antonio and Tranquilla Mandirola, born in Volpedo in 1875.{{r|Crosetti}} In 1892, she married Pellizza, and they had three children: Maria, Nerina, and Pietro. She died in 1907, immediately after giving birth to their third child.{{r|Crosetti}} |
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:[[File:Paris m 3 jms.svg|20px|link=]]: Giacomo Bidone,{{r|ScottiBook3|p=56}} later known as Giacomo Maria Clemente Silvestro, born in Volpedo on October 16, 1884.{{r|Crosetti}} He remained there, working as a carpenter and remaining a widower after the death of his wife Lucotti, until 1891, when he moved to [[Viguzzolo]]. From there, he emigrated to [[America]], following the footsteps of his uncle. |
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⚫ | :[[File:Paris transit icons - Métro 1.svg|20px|link=]]: Giovanni Zarri, called Gioanon, born on December 3, 1854, in |
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:[[File:Paris m |
:[[File:Paris m 4 jms.svg|20px|link=]]: Luigi Dolcini,{{r|Crosetti}} born in Volpedo on February 23, 1881 to Siro Emanuele Zaccaria and Giuseppina Giani. |
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:[[File:Paris m |
:[[File:Paris m 5 jms.svg|20px|link=]], [[File:Paris m 6 jms.svg|20px|link=]]: Giuseppe Tedesi, born July 18, 1883 in Volpedo.{{r|Crosetti}} Creator of a historic family of tableware, he lived in the town of [[Brignano-Frascata]] together with his wife Rosalia Giani. He died in 1968. |
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:[[File:Paris m |
:[[File:Paris m 7 jms.svg|20px|link=]]: Lorenzo Roveretti, son of Giovanni and Bidone Teresa di Filippo, born in Volpedo on January 17, 1874.{{r|Crosetti}} |
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:[[File:Paris m |
:[[File:Paris m 8 jms.svg|20px|link=]]: Costantino Gatti, born in Volpedo on the October 1, 1849 to Carlo and Rosa Torlasco.{{r|Crosetti}} A known local basketmaker, he married Guiditta Bernini in 1878. He lived with her until his death on December 9, 1925. |
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:[[File:Paris m |
:[[File:Paris m 9 jms.svg|20px|link=]]: Maria Albina Bidone, younger sister of Teresa Bidone and born in Volpedo in 1879.{{r|Crosetti}} She died of consumption in 1907. Her husband Giovanni Ferrari ([[File:Paris m 10 jms.svg|20px|link=]]{{r|Crosetti}}), overwhelmed by sadness, committed suicide in 1932. |
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:[[File:Paris m 8 jms.svg|20px|link=]]: Costantino Gatti, born in Volpedo on the October 1, 1849 to Carlo and Rosa Torlasco. A known local basketmaker, he married Guiditta Bernini in 1878. He lived with her until his death on December 9, 1925. |
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:[[File:Paris m 9 jms.svg|20px|link=]]: Maria Albina Bidone, younger sister of Teresa Bidone and born in Volpedo in 1879. She died of consumption in 1907. Her husband Giovanni Ferrari ([[File:Paris m 10 jms.svg|20px|link=]]), overwhelmed by sadness, committed suicide in 1932. |
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==Name== |
==Name== |
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{{For|the media as the "fourth estate"|Fourth Estate}} |
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For Pellizza, "Fourth Estate" referred to the exploited working class. Before the [[French Revolution]], French society was divided into three estates or orders: the First Estate (clergy); the Second Estate (nobility); and the Third Estate (commoners).{{r|Puppo|p=151–152}} Although the Third Estate was by far the largest, it was also heterogeneous and included everyone from urban professionals and businessmen to farmers and laborers. The French Revolution marked the ascent of the bourgeoisie as the ruling class within the third estate. Social and industrial transformations accelerated the perception of [[Proletariat|the working class]] as a distinct social class—a "fourth estate" producing the wealth of the modern economy but deprived of political representation.<ref>This definition can be contrasted with that of [[Fourth Estate|the media as the "fourth estate."]]</ref> |
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==Reception and legacy== |
==Reception and legacy== |
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Pellizza always intended ''The Fourth Estate'' to be publicly displayed.{{r|Stone}} It was first unveiled to the public at the [[Prima Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Decorativa Moderna]], held in [[Turin]] in 1902. The work received no recognition (the jury, which included Pellizza's sculptor friend [[Leonardo Bistolfi]], awarded [[Davide Calandra]] and his ''Monument to the Prince Amedeo''), and it was not bought by a museum. Although ''The Fourth Estate'' was passed over by art critics, it was applauded by other painters and labor organizers.{{r|Puppo|p=153}} The poet {{ill|Giovanni Cena|it}} wrote that "it is something that will remain and not fear time, because time will aid it."<ref name=Onofri>{{cite book |last1=Onofri |first1=Massimo |title=Il suicidio del socialismo |
Pellizza always intended ''The Fourth Estate'' to be publicly displayed.{{r|Stone}} It was first unveiled to the public at the [[Prima Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Decorativa Moderna]], held in [[Turin]] in 1902. The work received no recognition (the jury, which included Pellizza's sculptor friend [[Leonardo Bistolfi]], awarded [[Davide Calandra]] and his ''Monument to the Prince Amedeo''), and it was not bought by a museum. Although ''The Fourth Estate'' was passed over by art critics, it was applauded by other painters and labor organizers.{{r|Puppo|p=153}} The poet {{ill|Giovanni Cena|it}} wrote that "it is something that will remain and not fear time, because time will aid it."<ref name=Onofri>{{cite book |last1=Onofri |first1=Massimo |title=Il suicidio del socialismo: Inchiesta su Pellizza da Volpedo |date=2009 |publisher=Donzelli |location=Roma |isbn=978-88-6036-409-8 |page=5 |language=it}}</ref> |
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[[File:Cartolina Strenna Quarto Stato.jpg|thumb|Postcard with ''The Fourth Estate'' decorated by an [[Art Nouveau]] carnation and printed by the magazine ''L'Uomo che ride'' as a tribute to subscribers]] |
[[File:Cartolina Strenna Quarto Stato.jpg|thumb|Postcard with ''The Fourth Estate'' decorated by an [[Art Nouveau]] carnation and printed by the magazine ''L'Uomo che ride'' as a tribute to subscribers]] |
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In 1903, the painting was reproduced in the Milanese journal ''Leggetemi! Almanacco per la pace'' as an artistic frame for an article by [[Edmondo De Amicis]]. It was reproduced on May 1, 1903, in the journal ''Unione'' and on May 1, 1904, in the periodical ''L'Avanguardia socialist''. It was used in 1905 as a symbol of the working class in {{ill|Avanti! della domenica|it}}, a daily magazine of the [[Italian Socialist Party]]. In 1906, the Vogherese journal ''L'Uomo che ride'' made a postcard of the painting on the direction of [[Ernesto Majocchi]], a good friend of Pellizza, with the "most grateful" consent of the artist.<ref>{{cite web |title= |
In 1903, the painting was reproduced in the Milanese journal ''Leggetemi! Almanacco per la pace'' as an artistic frame for an article by [[Edmondo De Amicis]]. It was reproduced on May 1, 1903, in the journal ''Unione'' and on May 1, 1904, in the periodical ''L'Avanguardia socialist''. It was used in 1905 as a symbol of the working class in {{ill|Avanti! della domenica|it|italic=yes}}, a daily magazine of the [[Italian Socialist Party]]. In 1906, the Vogherese journal ''L'Uomo che ride'' made a postcard of the painting on the direction of [[Ernesto Majocchi]], a good friend of Pellizza, with the "most grateful" consent of the artist.<ref>{{cite web |title=Majocchi, Ernesto in "Dizionario Biografico" |url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/ernesto-majocchi_(Dizionario-Biografico)/ |website=www.treccani.it |publisher=Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani |access-date=17 January 2021 |language=it-IT |date=2006 |archive-date=February 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210206170639/https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/ernesto-majocchi_(Dizionario-Biografico)/ |url-status=live }}</ref>{{r|ScottiBook|p=53|q=«A Majocchi Pellizza concesse anche la riproduzione a scopo propagandistico del suo Quarto Stato, adombrando quasi una posizione di artista-militante. Ma tale posizione non fu senza contrasti: nello stesso 1906 in cui si impegnava con Majocchi, Pellizza non si sentiva di fare altrettanto con l'editore milanese Edmond Pecchi, che gli aveva chiesto di poter riprodurre Il Quarto Stato sotto il busto di Karl Marx per una delle targhette propagandistiche del partito»}} While the painting still did not garner much acclaim from art critics, it became more and more well known through its numerous reproductions and prints in socialist newspapers. |
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Meanwhile, with the wide diffusion of the work, Pellizza tried several times in vain to exhibit ''The Fourth Estate''. Exhibition committees routinely refused to exhibit the painting during those early years due to its subject matter. Pellizza would only see it exhibited once, in 1907 at the Society for the Promotion of Arts in Rome, before his death by suicide in June of that year.<ref>«Sopraffatto dalla disperazione l’artista pose fine alla propria vita impiccandosi nello studio di Volpedo il 14 giugno 1907» {{Cite web|url= |
Meanwhile, with the wide diffusion of the work, Pellizza tried several times in vain to exhibit ''The Fourth Estate''. Exhibition committees routinely refused to exhibit the painting during those early years due to its subject matter. Pellizza would only see it exhibited once, in 1907 at the Society for the Promotion of Arts in Rome, before his death by suicide in June of that year.<ref>«Sopraffatto dalla disperazione l’artista pose fine alla propria vita impiccandosi nello studio di Volpedo il 14 giugno 1907» {{Cite web|url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/pellizza-da-volpedo-giuseppe_(Dizionario-Biografico)|title=Pellizza Da Volpedo, Giuseppe in "Dizionario Biografico"|website=www.treccani.it|language=it-IT|access-date=2019-01-25|archive-date=June 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210607041723/https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/pellizza-da-volpedo-giuseppe_%28Dizionario-Biografico%29/|url-status=live}}</ref> |
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After Pellizza's death, ''The Fourth Estate'' remained the property of his family, out of public view.{{r|Puppo|p=154}} In 1920, it was displayed in a retrospective show dedicated to Pellizza at the {{ill|Galleria Pesaro|it}} in Milan, thanks to the growth of leftist culture during the [[Biennio Rosso]]. It was a decisive show for the physical future of the work; the painting impressed [[Guido Marangoni]], a socialist councilor of Milan and art critic. With the municipal counselor Fausto Costa, Marangoni managed to purchase it in 1920 through [[public subscription]] for 50,000 lire. After its acquisition, the painting entered the collection of [[Galleria d'Arte Moderna, Milan]]<ref>{{cite web |title=GAM Milano: Collezione Ottocento |url=http://www.gam-milano.com/it/le-collezioni/collezione-ottocento/ |website=www.gam-milano.com |access-date=17 January 2021 |language=it-IT}}</ref> and was displayed in the ballroom of [[Sforza Castle]]. |
After Pellizza's death, ''The Fourth Estate'' remained the property of his family, out of public view.{{r|Puppo|p=154}} In 1920, it was displayed in a retrospective show dedicated to Pellizza at the {{ill|Galleria Pesaro|it}} in Milan, thanks to the growth of leftist culture during the [[Biennio Rosso]]. It was a decisive show for the physical future of the work; the painting impressed [[Guido Marangoni]], a socialist councilor of Milan and art critic. With the municipal counselor Fausto Costa, Marangoni managed to purchase it in 1920 through [[public subscription]] for 50,000 lire. After its acquisition, the painting entered the collection of [[Galleria d'Arte Moderna, Milan]]<ref>{{cite web |title=GAM Milano: Collezione Ottocento |url=http://www.gam-milano.com/it/le-collezioni/collezione-ottocento/ |website=www.gam-milano.com |access-date=17 January 2021 |language=it-IT |archive-date=July 19, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719233304/http://www.gam-milano.com/it/le-collezioni/collezione-ottocento/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and was displayed in the ballroom of [[Sforza Castle]]. |
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During the Italian [[Fascism in Italy|fascist regime]] in the 1930s, the painting was rolled up and stored in the basement of the castle. After the war, it was reinstated for public view in 1954 and was displayed initially in the [[Palazzo Marino]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.palazzoducale.genova.it/il-quarto-stato/|title=Il Quarto Stato di Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo|last=Zuffi|first=Stefano|date=11 February 2016|website=Palazzo Ducale Fondazione per la Cultura|language=it-IT|access-date=2019-01-25}}</ref> Its utopian representation of social progress was popular during the ongoing political struggle between the [[Christian Democracy (Italy)|Christian Democrat party]] and the Italian socialist and communist parties during the 1950s.{{r|Puppo|p=154}} The acclaim of art critic {{ill|Corrado Maltese|it}}, who declared in 1960 that the painting was "the greatest monument that the workers' movement has ever been able to boast in Italy," also kept ''The Fourth Estate'' in the public eye.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Maltese |first1=Corrado |title=Storia dell'arte in Italia |
During the Italian [[Fascism in Italy|fascist regime]] in the 1930s, the painting was rolled up and stored in the basement of the castle. After the war, it was reinstated for public view in 1954 and was displayed initially in the [[Palazzo Marino]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.palazzoducale.genova.it/il-quarto-stato/|title=Il Quarto Stato di Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo|last=Zuffi|first=Stefano|date=11 February 2016|website=Palazzo Ducale Fondazione per la Cultura|language=it-IT|access-date=2019-01-25|archive-date=October 5, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161005120914/http://www.palazzoducale.genova.it/il-quarto-stato/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Its utopian representation of social progress was popular during the ongoing political struggle between the [[Christian Democracy (Italy)|Christian Democrat party]] and the Italian socialist and communist parties during the 1950s.{{r|Puppo|p=154}} The acclaim of art critic {{ill|Corrado Maltese|it}}, who declared in 1960 that the painting was "the greatest monument that the workers' movement has ever been able to boast in Italy," also kept ''The Fourth Estate'' in the public eye.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Maltese |first1=Corrado |title=Storia dell'arte in Italia, 1785-1943 |date=1992 |location=Torino |publisher=Einaudi |page=268 |isbn=978-88-06-12989-7 |language=it-IT |oclc=468148543}}</ref> |
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[[File:DeSantis CacciaTragica still.png|thumb|Still from ''[[Tragic Hunt]]'' inspired by ''The Fourth Estate'']] |
[[File:DeSantis CacciaTragica still.png|thumb|Still from ''[[Tragic Hunt]]'' inspired by ''The Fourth Estate'']] |
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With the development of mass media, ''The Fourth Estate'' was popularized outside of artistic and literary circles, appearing even in film. Pelizza's compositional choices became a touchstone for leftist Italian artists in the 1940s and '50s:<ref name=Pucci>{{cite journal |last1=Pucci |first1=Lara |title="Terra Italia": The Peasant Subject as Site of National and Socialist Identities in the Work of Renato Guttuso and Giuseppe De Santis |journal=Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes |date=2008 |volume=71 |pages=315–334 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20462788 |access-date=1 February 2021 |issn=0075-4390 |jstor=20462788}}</ref> [[Giuseppe De Santis]] used the image of workers walking forward in a line for his [[Italian neorealism|neorealist]] 1947 film, ''[[Tragic Hunt]]'', and [[Renato Guttuso]] used ''The Fourth Estate'' to compose his (now destroyed) 1953 oil painting ''Occupazione di terre in Sicilia''. From that point on, the painting became a feature of numerous exhibitions and research projects, notably including [[ |
With the development of mass media, ''The Fourth Estate'' was popularized outside of artistic and literary circles, appearing even in film. Pelizza's compositional choices became a touchstone for leftist Italian artists in the 1940s and '50s:<ref name=Pucci>{{cite journal |last1=Pucci |first1=Lara |title="Terra Italia": The Peasant Subject as Site of National and Socialist Identities in the Work of Renato Guttuso and Giuseppe De Santis |journal=Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes |date=2008 |volume=71 |pages=315–334 |doi=10.1086/JWCI20462788 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20462788 |access-date=1 February 2021 |issn=0075-4390 |jstor=20462788 |s2cid=192586084 |archive-date=February 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210206163401/https://www.jstor.org/stable/20462788 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Giuseppe De Santis]] used the image of workers walking forward in a line for his [[Italian neorealism|neorealist]] 1947 film, ''[[Tragic Hunt]]'', and [[Renato Guttuso]] used ''The Fourth Estate'' to compose his (now destroyed) 1953 oil painting ''Occupazione di terre in Sicilia''. From that point on, the painting became a feature of numerous exhibitions and research projects, notably including [[monograph]]s by Aurora Scotti and Gabriella Pelissero. [[Bernardo Bertolucci]]'s epic historical film of 1976, ''[[1900 (film)|1900]]'', displayed the opening credits over a slow [[Zooming (filmmaking)|zoom]] of ''The Fourth Estate''.{{r|Onofri|p=11}}<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=90K_DAAAQBAJ&q=bertolucci+fourth+estate&pg=PA122|title=Italian Fascism: History, Memory and Representation|last1=Bosworth|first1=R.J.B.|last2=Dogliani|first2=Patrizia|publisher=Springer|year=1999|location=London & New York|pages=122|language=en|isbn=978-1-349-27245-7|oclc=1083462346|access-date=November 7, 2020|archive-date=August 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814124215/https://books.google.com/books?id=90K_DAAAQBAJ&q=bertolucci+fourth+estate&pg=PA122|url-status=live}}</ref> |
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After undergoing a restoration in 1976, ''The Fourth Estate'' remained at the Palazzo Marino until 1980, when it moved to the [[Galleria d'Arte Moderna, Milan|Galleria d'Arte Moderna]] in Milan. It was displayed in a gallery room entirely devoted to divisionism. It remained there until December 2010, when it was moved to its current location, Milan's [[Museo del Novecento]]. (The earlier ''Fiumana'' version is held in the [[Pinacoteca di Brera]], also in Milan.) |
After undergoing a restoration by Giovanni Rossi in 1976,{{r|ScottiBook3|q=«Il successivo restauro dell'opera curato da Giovanni Rossi, che liberava la tela dalle stratificazioni di sporco, e soprattutto dai depositi di nicotina, conseguenza del prolungato soggiorno nelle stanze della giunta comunale, ridono all'opera la calda luminosità ordinaria, facendo pienamente riscoprire la qualità cromatica del lavoro pellizziano.»}} ''The Fourth Estate'' remained at the Palazzo Marino until 1980, when it moved to the [[Galleria d'Arte Moderna, Milan|Galleria d'Arte Moderna]] in Milan. It was displayed in a gallery room entirely devoted to divisionism. It remained there until December 2010, when it was moved to its current location, Milan's [[Museo del Novecento]]. (The earlier ''Fiumana'' version is held in the [[Pinacoteca di Brera]], also in Milan.) |
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The Museo del Novecento considers the painting one of its most valuable masterpieces,<ref name=":0"/> and the architect [[Italo Rota]] was commissioned to design a room to house the display of the painting. The display, however, was criticized for its awkward and constrained space. The museum had decided to make the work viewable to the public, without a ticket, but not to display the work in the museum's main lobby, leading to [[Institutional Critique]] of the museum.{{r|Stone}} |
The Museo del Novecento considers the painting one of its most valuable masterpieces,<ref name=":0"/> and the architect [[Italo Rota]] was commissioned to design a room to house the display of the painting. The display, however, was criticized for its awkward and constrained space. The museum had decided to make the work viewable to the public, without a ticket, but not to display the work in the museum's main lobby, leading to [[Institutional Critique]] of the museum.{{r|Stone}} |
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Still, ''The Fourth Estate'' itself is held up as an exemplar of Italian [[social realism]] at the turn of the 20th century.<ref name="Stone">{{cite journal |last1=Golo Stone |first1=Eric |title=Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo |
Still, ''The Fourth Estate'' itself is held up as an exemplar of Italian [[social realism]] at the turn of the 20th century.<ref name="Stone">{{cite journal |last1=Golo Stone |first1=Eric |title=Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo |journal=Flash Art |date=21 October 2015 |url=https://flash---art.com/article/giuseppe-pellizza-da-volpedo-the-fourth-estate-1901/ |access-date=5 February 2021 |archive-date=February 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210214051048/https://flash---art.com/article/giuseppe-pellizza-da-volpedo-the-fourth-estate-1901/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Modern critics have also noted its contradiction between socialist [[symbolism (arts)|symbolism]] and Catholic nostalgia.{{r|Parks}} |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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* [[Social realism]] and [[socialist realism]] |
* [[Social realism]] and [[socialist realism]] |
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* [[Socialism in Italy]] |
* [[Socialism in Italy]] |
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== References == |
== References == |
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{{ |
{{Reflist |
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|refs= |
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<ref name= |
<ref name=Bußmann>{{cite web |last1=Bußmann |first1=Frédéric |title=Pellizza da Volpedo: Il quarto stato (1891-1901) |url=https://www.homolaicus.com/arte/pellizza/studi_critici/quarto_stato.htm |website=HomoLaicus |access-date=17 January 2021 |language=Italian |archive-date=July 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200711152457/http://www.homolaicus.com/arte/pellizza/studi_critici/quarto_stato.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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<ref name=Crosetti>{{Cite news|url=https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/2001/05/25/nipotini-del-quarto-stato.html?refresh_ce|title=I nipotini del Quarto Stato|last=Crosetti|first=Maurizio|date=25 May 2001|work=[[la Repubblica]]|access-date=25 January 2019|archive-date=January 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190126000814/https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/2001/05/25/nipotini-del-quarto-stato.html?refresh_ce|url-status=live}}</ref> |
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<ref name=Pasqualone>{{cite web |last1=Pasqualone |first1=E. |title=Il quarto stato: Pellizza da Volpedo |url=https://www.geometriefluide.com/pagina.asp?cat=pellizza-da-volpedo&prod=quartostato-pellizza |website=GeometrieFluide |access-date=17 January 2021 |archive-date=February 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226154605/https://www.geometriefluide.com/pagina.asp?cat=pellizza-da-volpedo&prod=quartostato-pellizza |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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⚫ | <ref name=Parks>{{cite news |last1=Parks |first1=Tim |title=Tim Parks on Divisionist Movement of Painters in Italy |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/jun/07/art.art |access-date=25 January 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=6 June 2008 |language=en |archive-date=January 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210130013349/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/jun/07/art.art |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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<ref name=Pellizza>{{cite book |last1=Pelissero |first1=Gabriella |title=Pellizza per il "Quarto Stato" |date=1977 |location=Turin|oclc=886458240}}</ref> |
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⚫ | <ref name=Puppo>{{cite journal |last1=del Puppo |first1=Dario |title=Il Quarto Stato |journal=Science & Society |date=1994 |volume=58 |issue=2 |pages=136–162 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40403403 |access-date=1 February 2021 |issn=0036-8237 |jstor=40403403 |archive-date=August 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814124216/https://www.jstor.org/stable/40403403 |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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<ref name=ScottiJournal>{{cite journal |last1=Scotti |first1=Aurora |title=Il linguaggio universale del Quarto Stato |journal=Oltre |issue=70 |publisher=Edizioni Oltrepo |location=Voghera |language=Italian}}</ref> |
<ref name=ScottiJournal>{{cite journal |last1=Scotti |first1=Aurora |title=Il linguaggio universale del Quarto Stato |journal=Oltre |issue=70 |publisher=Edizioni Oltrepo |location=Voghera |language=Italian}}</ref> |
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<ref name=ScottiBook>{{cite book | |
<ref name=ScottiBook>{{cite book |last=Pellizza da Volpedo |first=Giuseppe |editor-last=Scotti |editor-first=Aurora |title=Il quarto stato |date=1976 |publisher=Gabriele Mazotta Editore |location=Milan |language=it |oclc=797486688}}</ref> |
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<ref name=ScottiBook2>{{cite book |last1=Scotti |first1=Aurora |title=Pellizza da Volpedo |
<ref name=ScottiBook2>{{cite book |last1=Scotti |first1=Aurora |title=Pellizza da Volpedo: Catalogo generale |date=1986 |publisher=Electa |location=Milan |language=it |isbn=978-88-435-2151-7 |oclc=230893862}}</ref> |
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<ref name= |
<ref name=ScottiBook3>{{cite book |last1=Scotti |first1=Aurora |title=Il quarto stato di Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo |date=1998 |publisher=TEA |location=Milano |isbn=9788878183018 |oclc=40624612 |edition=1 |language=it-IT}}</ref> |
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⚫ | <ref name=Zimmermann>{{cite book |last1=Zimmermann |first1=Michael F. |title=Kunstwissenschaftliche Studien |date=2006 |publisher=Deutscher Kunstverlag |location=München |isbn=978-3-422-06453-9 |language=German |chapter=Industrialisierung der Phantasie: der Aufbau des modernen Italien und das Mediensystem der Künste, 1875-1900 |oclc=474832476}}</ref> |
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}} |
}} |
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==Bibliography== |
==Bibliography== |
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* |
*{{cite book |last1=Scotti |first1=Aurora |title=Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo: Il Quarto Stato |date=1976 |publisher=Mazzotta |location=Milan |language=it}} |
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==External links== |
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{{Authority control}} |
{{Authority control}} |
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[[Category:1901 paintings]] |
[[Category:1901 paintings]] |
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[[Category:Italian paintings]] |
[[Category:Italian paintings]] |
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[[Category:Paintings in |
[[Category:Paintings in the Museo del Novecento]] |
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[[Category:Modern paintings]] |
[[Category:Modern paintings]] |
Revision as of 16:52, 31 December 2023
The Fourth Estate | |
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Italian: Il quarto stato, Spanish: El Cuarto Estado | |
Artist | Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo |
Year | c. 1901 |
Type | Oil on canvas[1]: 323 |
Dimensions | 293 cm × 545 cm (115 in × 215 in)[1]: 323 |
Location | Galleria d'Arte Moderna, Milan |
The Fourth Estate (Italian: Il quarto stato) is an oil painting by Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo, originally titled The Path of Workers and made between 1898 and 1901.[2] It depicts a moment during a labor strike when workers' representatives calmly and confidently stride out of a crowd to negotiate for the workers' rights. Its name refers to the working class as standing alongside the three traditional estates that divided power between the nobility, clergy, and commoners.
Pellizza made three separate large-scale preliminary versions of the work to experiment with his divisionist representations of color. After his death, The Fourth Estate became a popular Italian socialist image and was reproduced extensively despite its initial shunning by formal art circles. Over time, its acclaim grew until it became recognized as one of the most important Italian paintings of the turn of the 20th century. The painting is now at the Galleria d'Arte Moderna in Milan.
History
1891–1895: Ambasciatori della Fame
Following the Italian Risorgimento, the peasant and bourgeois classes of the new country had an uncertain relationship.[3]: 140 Some bourgeois intellectuals bemoaned the lowering of Italian culture, while artists—particularly the divisionists—brought social themes into their artwork. Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo tried to unite the techniques of divisionism with the influence of the farmers' mutual aid society he had joined in his hometown of Volpedo and the socialist writings of the Second International.[3]: 141
Pellizza began to work on a study for Ambasciatori della Fame (Ambassadors of Hunger) in 1891, after participating in a workers' protest in Turin. The scene made such an impression on him that he noted it in his diary:
This social question imposes. Many are dedicated to it and study it swiftly to resolve it. Even art should not be alienated from this movement to a destination that is still unknown but which is understood to be better than present conditions.[4]: 2
The first sketch was completed in April 1891. The subject was a workers' revolt in Piazza Malaspina in Volpedo, with three subjects placed at the front of the protest. The scene is viewed from above, and the figures are distributed on orthogonal lines. This core composition remained in successive versions of the work, each of which presents the three figures in front of a mass of people in the background and a dark backdrop.[5] The shadow stretching out to the ambassador's feet is likely the palazzo on Piazza Malaspina, where the workers are going to make their demands.[3]: 144
Pellizza made numerous other intermediary works between the first drawing of Ambasciatori della Fame and Fiumana. He also made Piazza Malaspina a Volpedo in 1891, which represents the topography of Volpedo as a preparatory background for the subsequent versions.[6]: 169 He made two other versions of Ambasciatori della Fame, one dated 1892 and the other 1895. The 1892 sketch is similar to the first. However, Pellizza added a group of women to the 1892 drawing, who are juxtaposed with the male workers.[6]: 356
The last draft before La Fiumana is the 1895 version of Ambasciatori, created after three quiet years on brown paper as a charcoal and gesso drawing. Pelliza wrote of it:
The ambassadors are two that advance, seriously, across the little piazza toward the noble palazzo that projects the shadow at their feet [...] Hunger advances with its multiple poses—they are men, women, the old, the young: all hungry to go and reclaim that which is their right–serene and calm, at rest, as those who know to ask more or less for what they are owed—they have suffered greatly. The hour of ransom has arrived, so they think, but they do not wish to obtain it with force, but with reason. Someone could raise a fist in an act of menace, but not this crowd, with him. They trust their ambassadors—the intelligent men. [...] A woman hurries to show her emaciated child; another, a third, is trying in vain to breastfeed her child—another shouts curses.[7]: 356
In the passage above, the artist underlined his wish to follow a general theory: not only to represent the citizens of Volpedo, but also an entire part of society that has "suffered greatly" and that intends to claim its rights through a struggle "serene, calm, and reasoned."[5][7]: 356
1895–1898: La Fiumana
Pellizza, before painting The Fourth Estate, decided in August 1895 to create a preliminary study in oil. This version, titled La Fiumana ("The River of Humanity"), represented a break from the previous drafts of Ambasciatori della Fame. Compared to them, there are many more people in the crowd and the painting is physically much larger.[3]: 145
Pellizza also used a different range of color in La Fiumana than in earlier versions. This time, he played with "contrasts of yellow and red, with the dominant ones in the earthy, sulfuric figures and the tones of blue to green in the background, where the sky is of a more intense, stronger azure blue and the green of plants is reflected on the ground."[7]: 357 [8]: 42,47 The result is a much darker palette, compared to the light tones in Ambasciatori.[3]: 145
The shadow in the front of the earlier versions is no longer present, and the crowd is placed further forward and emphasized with a lower viewpoint. Likewise, the architectural elements have been reduced or removed.[3]: 145 The pleading figure at right has been replaced by woman holding a baby in her arms; she stands slightly behind the other two workers[5] and represents the inclusion of women as deserving of workers' rights.[3]: 146
Thanks to the various drawings, preparatory studies, and photographs of the models in pose,[8]: 177 Pellizza was able to draft the definitive version of Fiumana in July 1895. The variants multiplied: the countryside underwent changes, while the line of figures in the back was made thinner or set further back, permitting the insertion of more figures. Pellizza's goal was to restore the vitality of a people that were no longer "a natural death, but a living, palpable mass, full of humble hopes or dark menace."[9]
Pellizza tried to give Fiumana a universal scope, exemplified in a poem he wrote on the margin of the canvas:
It is heard ... the River of humanity runs
gently and swells. To remain is a crime.
Philosopher, leave your books to place yourself at its head,
guide it with your studies.
Artist, it brings you with it to ease sadness with
the beauty you know how to present
Worker, leave the bottle which you, for your long labor,
consume
And it brings you with it.
And what do you do? The wife, the child, lead you to
swell
the river of Humanity thirsty
for justice – the justice trampled until now
and now a distant mirage shines.[10]
1898–1901: Il Quarto Stato
Dissatisfied with the technical artistic effect of Fiumana but also in light of the brutal Bava Beccaris massacre in Milan, Pellizza decided in 1898 to make the work for a third time on "the greatest manifesto that the Italian proletariat could boast between the 19th and 20th century."[8]: 44 His objectives were to render the crowd more tumultuous and impetuous, forming "a wedge towards the observer", and to perfect the chromatic values.[6]: 42
For these reasons, he made a smaller work, Il Cammino dei Lavoratori ("The Path of the Workers"), in 1898. In this preparatory drawing, he gave greater relief to the gestures of the workers, enriching their realism. For example, the woman worker in the front now gestures with her left hand, whereas in Fiumana she held her baby in both arms. The figures in the background express uncertainty or seem to be talking amongst themselves.[3]: 150,152 The first row of workers are delineated with greater plasticity, "while embedding, like a river, the final part of the array, under a sky articulated with serene spaces and turbulent clouds."[7]: 409
This dynamism was also translated in work's palette, which returned to a cold range of colors that included rosy ochres, arranged with small brushstrokes of little lines and points.[7]: 380 This is the post-Impressionist technique of divisionism, which tried to take a more scientific approach to color and became a national Italian art style.[11]
The technical picture is explained by Pellizza in a letter of May 18, 1898, sent to his friend Mucchi:
The theory of contrasts helps me, that the complements and the division of color depend on the purpose that I set for myself in my works. All the science regarding light and colors arouse in me a particular interest: with it, I can understand what I make. [...] For this aim, I make my attempts presently; and, in the hope of reaching better results, I make preliminary studies to better determine in my mind what I wish to do. Then I draw cartoons of gesso on canvas. On this, I apply the prepared color, and therefore I look to finish each detail of the painting from life. And for the result, its production will not be in all the points, nor all the lines, nor all the impasto, and not even all that is smooth or all that is rough; but as varied as are the various appearances of the objects in nature and the joining of forms with the colors in "a speaking harmony" (this being the supreme goal), an idea in the mind or a feeling in the heart.[10]: 211
With Il Camino dei Lavoratori, Pellizza's social aim for the picture changed, as he adopted Italian socialist proletarian culture. The depiction was no longer of a "human river," but of "men of labor" who struggled for universal rights as part of the class struggle. Also, unlike in previous versions, the figures of Il Cammino dei Lavoratori are individuated and identifiable.[3]: 144 The workers' step toward the observer is not violent; it is slow, with a calmness that gives a sense of invincibility.[5] This sense of inevitability matches Pellizza's belief in the gradual transformation of Italy into a socialist society.[3]: 148
The drafting of Il Cammino dei Lavoratori took three years. Pellizza was able to finish painting in 1901, and when the work was complete he decided to give it a new title—Il Quarto Stato[6]: 188-89,193-94 —to refer to the Fourth Estate, the working class. This decision is attributed to Pellizza's discussion with a friend, Arzano, about their reading of Storia della rivoluzione francese by Jean Jaurès, which stated the third estate comprised both the bourgeois and the proletariat.[8]: 16
Description and style
Considered a symbol of the 20th century, artistically and socially, The Fourth Estate depicts a workers' strike.[12] The divisionist style is used to depict the strikers walking casually towards the light, with their shadows behind them. The painting represents the full development of this theme from Pellizza's preparatory studies.[13][14] The composition of the painting is balanced in its shapes and vibrant in its light, giving force to the mass movement it depicts.
The painting's laborers march in a piazza, presumably Piazza Malaspina in Volpedo. The procession's advance is not violent, but slow and sure, to suggest their inevitable victory. It was Pellizza's intention to give life to "a mass of people, of laborers of the earth who, intelligent, strong, robust, and united, advance like a river that floods each obstacle in its way to reassume a place of equilibrium."[15]: 7 While Pellizza first wished only to draw a street demonstration, as had been represented in other works of the time (such as La Piazza Caricamento a Genova by Nomellini and The Orator of the Strike by Longoni),[16] in later versions his intent changed to celebrating the imposition of the working classes, the "Fourth Estate," on the bourgeoisie class.[17]
In the foreground of the image, there are three definite subjects: two men and a woman with a baby in her arms. The woman, whom Pellizza modeled on his wife Teresa, has bare feet and invites the demonstrators to follow her with an eloquent gesture. The folds of her dress show forward movement. To her right is probably the main protagonist of the scene: a "man of 35, fiery and intelligent, a laborer" (as Pelliza described him).[18]: 391 He has one hand in his pants pocket and the other carries a jacket thrown over his shoulder; he proceeds with ease and strength. To his right is another man who advances mute and pensive, with a jacket falling over his left shoulder.[17]
The other protestors take up around a fifth of the painting's frontal plane. They all display natural gestures: some carry babies in their arms, others use their hands to block the sun from their eyes, and some simply look straight ahead. Their figures are spread out horizontally, following a paratactic composition. On the one hand, this compositional solution recalls classical friezes. On the other, it evokes the realistic scene of a street demonstration.[17] As described by art critic Maresa Sottile, through this combination, Pellizza "harmoniously joined the values of ancient classical civility to the modern consciousness of one's own civil rights."[19] Pellizza married the demonstration to images reminiscent of Renaissance artworks, which directly inspired him through the expressiveness of figures in masterpieces like The School of Athens by Raphael[17] and The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci.[20]
The painting is in the divisionist style, which was popular in early 20th century Italy. The style, similar to the earlier pointillism, uses the juxtaposition of individual points of color to create new chromatic experiences, rather than mixing paints before they reach the canvas.[21] It was believed that this led to the most natural depiction of light possible, through the scientific application of color.[22] Art critic de Puppo also believes that the use of unmixed colors to generate the entire painting's palette has affinity with its theme of "organized masses of people."[3]: 142
Models
Many characters depicted in the painting are modeled after friends of the artist, socialist activists, and natives of Volpedo. The woman in the forefront holding a baby is based on Teresa Bidone, the artist's wife[23]:
- : Giovanni Zarri,[8]: 56 called Gioanon, born on December 3, 1854, in Volpedo to Angiola Regiza.[23] He began his carpentry business at a young age. He married Luigina Belloni, with whom he had eight children, and they moved to via Ferzina 13 in Volpedo, where he lived until his death on October 30, 1910. This figure was also partly modeled on Giovanni Gatti, the pharmacist in Volpedo, whom Pellizza enjoyed discussing socialism with.[23]
- : Teresa Bidone,[8]: 56 daughter of Antonio and Tranquilla Mandirola, born in Volpedo in 1875.[23] In 1892, she married Pellizza, and they had three children: Maria, Nerina, and Pietro. She died in 1907, immediately after giving birth to their third child.[23]
- : Giacomo Bidone,[8]: 56 later known as Giacomo Maria Clemente Silvestro, born in Volpedo on October 16, 1884.[23] He remained there, working as a carpenter and remaining a widower after the death of his wife Lucotti, until 1891, when he moved to Viguzzolo. From there, he emigrated to America, following the footsteps of his uncle.
- : Luigi Dolcini,[23] born in Volpedo on February 23, 1881 to Siro Emanuele Zaccaria and Giuseppina Giani.
- , : Giuseppe Tedesi, born July 18, 1883 in Volpedo.[23] Creator of a historic family of tableware, he lived in the town of Brignano-Frascata together with his wife Rosalia Giani. He died in 1968.
- : Lorenzo Roveretti, son of Giovanni and Bidone Teresa di Filippo, born in Volpedo on January 17, 1874.[23]
- : Costantino Gatti, born in Volpedo on the October 1, 1849 to Carlo and Rosa Torlasco.[23] A known local basketmaker, he married Guiditta Bernini in 1878. He lived with her until his death on December 9, 1925.
- : Maria Albina Bidone, younger sister of Teresa Bidone and born in Volpedo in 1879.[23] She died of consumption in 1907. Her husband Giovanni Ferrari ([23]), overwhelmed by sadness, committed suicide in 1932.
Name
For Pellizza, "Fourth Estate" referred to the exploited working class. Before the French Revolution, French society was divided into three estates or orders: the First Estate (clergy); the Second Estate (nobility); and the Third Estate (commoners).[3]: 151–152 Although the Third Estate was by far the largest, it was also heterogeneous and included everyone from urban professionals and businessmen to farmers and laborers. The French Revolution marked the ascent of the bourgeoisie as the ruling class within the third estate. Social and industrial transformations accelerated the perception of the working class as a distinct social class—a "fourth estate" producing the wealth of the modern economy but deprived of political representation.[24]
Reception and legacy
Pellizza always intended The Fourth Estate to be publicly displayed.[25] It was first unveiled to the public at the Prima Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Decorativa Moderna, held in Turin in 1902. The work received no recognition (the jury, which included Pellizza's sculptor friend Leonardo Bistolfi, awarded Davide Calandra and his Monument to the Prince Amedeo), and it was not bought by a museum. Although The Fourth Estate was passed over by art critics, it was applauded by other painters and labor organizers.[3]: 153 The poet Giovanni Cena wrote that "it is something that will remain and not fear time, because time will aid it."[26]
In 1903, the painting was reproduced in the Milanese journal Leggetemi! Almanacco per la pace as an artistic frame for an article by Edmondo De Amicis. It was reproduced on May 1, 1903, in the journal Unione and on May 1, 1904, in the periodical L'Avanguardia socialist. It was used in 1905 as a symbol of the working class in Avanti! della domenica , a daily magazine of the Italian Socialist Party. In 1906, the Vogherese journal L'Uomo che ride made a postcard of the painting on the direction of Ernesto Majocchi, a good friend of Pellizza, with the "most grateful" consent of the artist.[27][6]: 53 While the painting still did not garner much acclaim from art critics, it became more and more well known through its numerous reproductions and prints in socialist newspapers.
Meanwhile, with the wide diffusion of the work, Pellizza tried several times in vain to exhibit The Fourth Estate. Exhibition committees routinely refused to exhibit the painting during those early years due to its subject matter. Pellizza would only see it exhibited once, in 1907 at the Society for the Promotion of Arts in Rome, before his death by suicide in June of that year.[28]
After Pellizza's death, The Fourth Estate remained the property of his family, out of public view.[3]: 154 In 1920, it was displayed in a retrospective show dedicated to Pellizza at the Galleria Pesaro in Milan, thanks to the growth of leftist culture during the Biennio Rosso. It was a decisive show for the physical future of the work; the painting impressed Guido Marangoni, a socialist councilor of Milan and art critic. With the municipal counselor Fausto Costa, Marangoni managed to purchase it in 1920 through public subscription for 50,000 lire. After its acquisition, the painting entered the collection of Galleria d'Arte Moderna, Milan[29] and was displayed in the ballroom of Sforza Castle.
During the Italian fascist regime in the 1930s, the painting was rolled up and stored in the basement of the castle. After the war, it was reinstated for public view in 1954 and was displayed initially in the Palazzo Marino.[30] Its utopian representation of social progress was popular during the ongoing political struggle between the Christian Democrat party and the Italian socialist and communist parties during the 1950s.[3]: 154 The acclaim of art critic Corrado Maltese , who declared in 1960 that the painting was "the greatest monument that the workers' movement has ever been able to boast in Italy," also kept The Fourth Estate in the public eye.[31]
With the development of mass media, The Fourth Estate was popularized outside of artistic and literary circles, appearing even in film. Pelizza's compositional choices became a touchstone for leftist Italian artists in the 1940s and '50s:[1] Giuseppe De Santis used the image of workers walking forward in a line for his neorealist 1947 film, Tragic Hunt, and Renato Guttuso used The Fourth Estate to compose his (now destroyed) 1953 oil painting Occupazione di terre in Sicilia. From that point on, the painting became a feature of numerous exhibitions and research projects, notably including monographs by Aurora Scotti and Gabriella Pelissero. Bernardo Bertolucci's epic historical film of 1976, 1900, displayed the opening credits over a slow zoom of The Fourth Estate.[26]: 11 [32]
After undergoing a restoration by Giovanni Rossi in 1976,[8] The Fourth Estate remained at the Palazzo Marino until 1980, when it moved to the Galleria d'Arte Moderna in Milan. It was displayed in a gallery room entirely devoted to divisionism. It remained there until December 2010, when it was moved to its current location, Milan's Museo del Novecento. (The earlier Fiumana version is held in the Pinacoteca di Brera, also in Milan.)
The Museo del Novecento considers the painting one of its most valuable masterpieces,[2] and the architect Italo Rota was commissioned to design a room to house the display of the painting. The display, however, was criticized for its awkward and constrained space. The museum had decided to make the work viewable to the public, without a ticket, but not to display the work in the museum's main lobby, leading to Institutional Critique of the museum.[25]
Still, The Fourth Estate itself is held up as an exemplar of Italian social realism at the turn of the 20th century.[25] Modern critics have also noted its contradiction between socialist symbolism and Catholic nostalgia.[11]
See also
References
- ^ a b c Pucci, Lara (2008). ""Terra Italia": The Peasant Subject as Site of National and Socialist Identities in the Work of Renato Guttuso and Giuseppe De Santis". Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes. 71: 315–334. doi:10.1086/JWCI20462788. ISSN 0075-4390. JSTOR 20462788. S2CID 192586084. Archived from the original on February 6, 2021. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
- ^ a b Novecento, Museo del. "Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo and The Fourth Estate". www.museodelnovecento.org. Archived from the original on January 26, 2019. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o del Puppo, Dario (1994). "Il Quarto Stato". Science & Society. 58 (2): 136–162. ISSN 0036-8237. JSTOR 40403403. Archived from the original on August 14, 2021. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
- ^ Scotti, Aurora. "Il linguaggio universale del Quarto Stato". Oltre (in Italian) (70). Voghera: Edizioni Oltrepo.
- ^ a b c d Bußmann, Frédéric. "Pellizza da Volpedo: Il quarto stato (1891-1901)". HomoLaicus (in Italian). Archived from the original on July 11, 2020. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Pellizza da Volpedo, Giuseppe (1976). Scotti, Aurora (ed.). Il quarto stato (in Italian). Milan: Gabriele Mazotta Editore. OCLC 797486688.
- ^ a b c d e Scotti, Aurora (1986). Pellizza da Volpedo: Catalogo generale (in Italian). Milan: Electa. ISBN 978-88-435-2151-7. OCLC 230893862.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Scotti, Aurora (1998). Il quarto stato di Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo (in Italian) (1 ed.). Milano: TEA. ISBN 9788878183018. OCLC 40624612.
- ^ Lamberti, Maria Mimita. Pellizza da Volpedo e il Quarto Stato, Storia dell'arte italiana, seconda parte. p. 88.
- ^ a b Fiori, Teresa; Bellonzi, Fortunato (1968). Archivi del Divisionismo (in Italian). Rome: Officina Edizioni. p. 198. OCLC 859590445.
- ^ a b Parks, Tim (June 6, 2008). "Tim Parks on Divisionist Movement of Painters in Italy". The Guardian. Archived from the original on January 30, 2021. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
- ^ Stone, Eric Golo (October 21, 2015). "Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo: The Fourth Estate (1901)". Flash Art. Archived from the original on January 26, 2019. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
- ^ "The Ambassadors of Hunger by Giuseppe Pelizza da Volpedo, oil on canvas". Getty Images. Archived from the original on January 26, 2019. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
- ^ "Stream of people, 1896 by Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo. Study for The Fourth Estate". Getty Images. Archived from the original on January 26, 2019. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
- ^ Pelissero, Gabriella (1977). Pellizza per il "Quarto Stato". Turin. OCLC 886458240.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Arte e socialità in Italia dal realismo al simbolismo 1865-1915. Milan: Palazzo della Permanente. 1979. OCLC 915809114.
- ^ a b c d Pasqualone, E. "Il quarto stato: Pellizza da Volpedo". GeometrieFluide. Archived from the original on February 26, 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
- ^ Zimmermann, Michael F. (2006). "Industrialisierung der Phantasie: der Aufbau des modernen Italien und das Mediensystem der Künste, 1875-1900". Kunstwissenschaftliche Studien (in German). München: Deutscher Kunstverlag. ISBN 978-3-422-06453-9. OCLC 474832476.
- ^ Sottile, Maresa (December 2018). "Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo". Albatros (in Italian) (194). Archived from the original on August 14, 2021. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
- ^ Senesi, Andrea (August 18, 2011). "Il Quarto Stato torni a Palazzo Marino". milano.corriere.it (in Italian). Corriere Milano. Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
- ^ "Divisionism: The origin of modern painting in Italy". The Art Post Blog: Art and Artists Italian Blog. June 23, 2016. Archived from the original on January 26, 2019. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
- ^ "Italian Divisionism, Neo-Impressionism in Italy". Visual Arts Cork. Archived from the original on January 23, 2019. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Crosetti, Maurizio (May 25, 2001). "I nipotini del Quarto Stato". la Repubblica. Archived from the original on January 26, 2019. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
- ^ This definition can be contrasted with that of the media as the "fourth estate."
- ^ a b c Golo Stone, Eric (October 21, 2015). "Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo". Flash Art. Archived from the original on February 14, 2021. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
- ^ a b Onofri, Massimo (2009). Il suicidio del socialismo: Inchiesta su Pellizza da Volpedo (in Italian). Roma: Donzelli. p. 5. ISBN 978-88-6036-409-8.
- ^ "Majocchi, Ernesto in "Dizionario Biografico"". www.treccani.it (in Italian). Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani. 2006. Archived from the original on February 6, 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
- ^ «Sopraffatto dalla disperazione l’artista pose fine alla propria vita impiccandosi nello studio di Volpedo il 14 giugno 1907» "Pellizza Da Volpedo, Giuseppe in "Dizionario Biografico"". www.treccani.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on June 7, 2021. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
- ^ "GAM Milano: Collezione Ottocento". www.gam-milano.com (in Italian). Archived from the original on July 19, 2020. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
- ^ Zuffi, Stefano (February 11, 2016). "Il Quarto Stato di Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo". Palazzo Ducale Fondazione per la Cultura (in Italian). Archived from the original on October 5, 2016. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
- ^ Maltese, Corrado (1992). Storia dell'arte in Italia, 1785-1943 (in Italian). Torino: Einaudi. p. 268. ISBN 978-88-06-12989-7. OCLC 468148543.
- ^ Bosworth, R.J.B.; Dogliani, Patrizia (1999). Italian Fascism: History, Memory and Representation. London & New York: Springer. p. 122. ISBN 978-1-349-27245-7. OCLC 1083462346. Archived from the original on August 14, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
Bibliography
- Scotti, Aurora (1976). Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo: Il Quarto Stato (in Italian). Milan: Mazzotta.
External links
- Media related to The Fourth Estate at Wikimedia Commons