RSA Scottish Art
The Statue of Guiseppe Mazzini, Pisa
 | Artist: David Michie |
| Title: The Statue of Guiseppe Mazzini, Pisa | |
| Year: c. 1955 | |
| Medium: oil on canvas | |
| Dimensions: | |
| Suggested topic: | |
| Source: RSA | |
| View full screen image of this work | |
| Open print version of this work | |
| © the artist | |
| Description: David Michie retired as Head of the School of Drawing and Painting at Edinburgh College of Art in 1989, but continues to live and paint in Edinburgh.This very early work, The Statue of Guiseppe Mazzini, Pisa, was carried out shortly after Michie's return from his scholarship travels in Italy. It shows his fascination with the rich qualities of colour and the texture of thickly applied paint (impasto). The palette is heavy and dark, leaning towards purplish-greys and featuring a lot of black. The image contains mainly dark mid-tones, which contrast with the brightly lit statue and some deep shadows that provide balance.The sculpture is a tribute to Guiseppe Mazzini, an important 19th-century Italian politician. It shines out from its tall plinth and the deeply shadowed buildings behind it create a slightly sinister effect, reminiscent of the paintings of Giorgio de Chirico (a surrealist). There is a strangeness about the bright statue as if it is being illuminated from the front; but if so, why is there no shadow behind it? This emphasises the sense of other-worldliness in the scene. Curious orangey glowing clouds, possibly the last light of the sunset, billow in the evening sky. The plaza is deserted, and the street lamps are still unlit. The painting feels quite crowded, with many elements crammed in and lending the scene a feeling of claustrophobia. The mood is slightly menacing and sinister. The eerie quiet of the streets and the absence of light in any of the windows makes the viewer wonder if the town has been abandoned. Michie could have chosen to depict a more famous and less sinister view of Pisa, such as the Leaning Tower, but instead he decided to create this far less conventional scene, with a powerful emotional impact. | |
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