The Mart is presenting an unprecedented comparison between two of the greatest protagonists of Magic Realism, a movement that spread throughout Europe from the early 1920s: the Dutch Pyke Koch and the Italian Cagnaccio di San Pietro, already well represented in the Mart’s collections and exhibitions. This exhibition is the brainchild of the president, Vittorio Sgarbi, and is curated by Beatrice Avanzi.

 

One hundred years after the advent of Magical Realism (a definition coined by the art critic Franz Roh in 1925), the dialogue between Pyke Koch and Cagnaccio illustrates two of its most fascinating variations, documenting its international reach.

The exhibition highlights the common features between the two artists’ works, within their respective, distinct and profoundly original approaches. In fact, both created a rigorous realism displaying extraordinary technical skill, inspired by 15th-century masters, and particularly those from Northern Europe. Both Koch and Cagnaccio preferred to depict humble people and environments, often with obvious social implications. The life scenes portrayed by the two painters share a clear, incisive vision, at times painful, at times ironic, with the power to catch the eye and reveal profound and hidden truths, on first glance.