Alone!
Emilio Longoni, an exponent of Italian divisionism, in this pastel, exhibited at the Brera Triennale in 1900, represents maternal torment over the loss of a child. This suffering is brought back to an intimate dimension, achieving the objective of ideally depicting pain and provoking a poignant reflection on death. The presence of the lilies covering the coffin in the foreground and the lit candle reveals the artist’s first adherence to symbolist themes. The work, which came from the Casa di Lavoro e Patronato per i Ciechi di Guerra di Lombardia in Milan, stands out for its rendering of the color applied pure or as a mixture through thin filaments that follow and constitute the volumes.
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Artwork details
- Artist:
- Emilio Longoni (Barlassina (MB), 1859 – Milano 1932)
- Title:
- Alone!
- Date:
- 1900
- Medium and technique:
- Pastel on paper
- Dimensions:
- 74,5 × 125 cm
- Inventory:
- MD 2019.200.001
- Location
-
Location: Works from the Diocese, first floor
The core of the Museum’s collection consists of works from numerous churches across the vast territory of the Archdiocese of Milan, an area of great cultural and artistic richness. Before the Museum opened in 2001, surveys and site visits throughout the diocese uncovered treasures that had, in some cases, previously been unknown, and initiated a programme to recover, restore and promote this artistic heritage. The selected works included panel and canvas paintings, wooden and marble sculptures, and liturgical furnishings. These were not objects of local devotion and mostly had conservation problems, and were therefore restored, or were at risk of theft. The works are arranged chronologically, beginning on the ground floor and continuing along the central corridor on the first floor; some are displayed in the hypogeum. This core is complemented by other works that have entered the Diocesan Museum’s permanent collection over the years through loans, donations and bequests.
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