Between 1947 and 1949, a number of Italian artists took a stand against the consequences of modernism and the 'blunders' of the École de Paris in defence of the great pictorial tradition. The group included Giovanni Acci, Pietro Annigoni, Antonio Bueno, Xavier Bueno, Carlo Guarienti, Gregorio Sciltian, Alfredo Serri. Five exhibitions were organised within a short time span in Milan, Florence, Modena and Rome.

What the painters had in common is the desire for a rebirth of painting that corresponds to a parallel rebirth of humanity after the destruction, deprivation and suffering of the recent world war. In the search for pure, real, and therefore eternal artistic virtues, there is the desire for absolute moral and spiritual values, the yearning for the authenticity that they believe can only be found in “real painting”.
The Modern Painters of Reality lambasted the decadent artistic expressions of many contemporaries as manifestations of the prevailing regression and decline. They countered these languages with an evocation of ancient, higher stylistic models from the past. Although appreciated by the public, the seven artists were lambasted by critics, who considered their style too anachronistic. The group disintegrated mainly due to its high inherent diversity: ideological distances, cultural incompatibilities, and age differences soon led to the end of a remarkable and original artistic experience.

Over seventy years later, the Mart reconstructs the complexity of the Modern Painters of Reality, underlining the common purpose that united them. The exhibition is also an opportunity for a more in-depth exploration of the career of each artist, which are already known to scholars for their richness and complexity, and to reconstruct their significant trajectory within the history of 20th century Italian art.

Buy Tickets