rawcanvasGiuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo – 1901
In this article we will analyze Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo’s most famous picture: “The Fourth Estate“
I’m proposing you this picture because I think that it reflects something still present today:the big gap between “classes” in both terms of social and economic inequalities.
My analysis won’t be based on the technical aspects but on the symbolic ones, like I did previously in my last article! (The Kiss)
This picture was criticized a lot back then because of its own structure: Pellizza decided to represent the proletariat community in a classic frieze just like a Greek, Latin nor classic/medieval one.
Pellizza was the master of Italian Divisionism, a group of artists who based their work on the studies of the light
In “The Fourth Estate” the workers are marching from a dark background toward a brighter sun which represents the walk toward a bright future. This light transition reflects the change from a past of ignorance and social oppression to a future of equality, rights and justice.
The “flood of light” creates an unstoppable, powerful and peaceful march toward the social progress
There are three key characters who are leading the movement:
1- An Old Man: he represents the past of wisdom
2- A Young Boy: he represents the present full of strength of action and determination
3- A Woman and a Baby held in her arms: she represents fecundity and hope for an improved future
4- The Baby: he is representative for the next generations, as a symbol of rebirth
See you in the next article!
G.
