Atanasio Soldati, "Gabbiani II", Gouache on paper, Italian Abstraction Art

Title: "Gabbiani II"
Medium: Gouache on paper
Size painting: 24 x 26 cm
Frame: 44 x 46 cm
Signed Lower right, titled at the back
Original frame

The composition is dominated by a rich blue background, which provides a contrasting canvas for the interplay of various shapes and hues. The painting representing seagulls flying features a multitude of overlapping circles, triangles, and rectangles, rendered in shades of pink, green, yellow, and black. 

The use of contrasting colours adds to the overall energy of the piece. The bright pink and green shapes stand out against the darker blue background, while the black lines provide a sense of structure and definition. The interplay of light and shadow further enhances the painting's visual impact.

Soldati's masterful use of colour and form results in a work that is both visually appealing and intellectually stimulating. "Gabbiani" invites viewers to explore its intricate details and appreciate the artist's skilful manipulation of the elements of design.

About Atanasio Soldati:

Atanasio Soldati
(1896-1953)
Italian
Soldati was an Italian painter who in the thirties became a central figure of Italian abstractionism . Most of his works are figurative (of purist origin) then he came to abstract research , starting from geometric shapes, with vivid and non-fading colors, characterized by exact limits.

Reference text: Martin Hopkinson, 'Italian Prints 1875-1975', BMP, 2007

"Born in Parma, Soldati studied architecture at the Accademia di Belle Arte in his native city until 1920. He practised as an architect, while teaching drawing at the Scuola Professionale at Langhirano from 1923 to 1925, and began to paint. A visit to Paris in 1933, brought Soldati into direct contact with the work of Kandinsky, Klee, and Picasso. The critic and theoretician of abstract art, Carlo Belli, wrote the introduction to the catalogue of his second exhibition at the Galleria del Milione in 1933. By the time of his third show, Soldati's paintings had become fully abstract. His work was in the linear abstraction vein of Mondrian and Vortemberge - Gildewart. In 1936, Soldati made the logical decision to join the Paris based international group Abstraction - Création. He paid a second visit to Paris in 1938.

During the war, his Milan studio was completely destroyed, and he moved to Losana near Pavia. Soldati was a member of the Italian Resistance movement. After the war, back in Milan he was one of the founders of M.A.C. (Movimento Arte Concreta) in 1948, and he began to teach at the Accademia di Brera. Soldati was included in Arte 'Astratta in Italia', the major exhibition organised by The Art Club in the Galleria di Roma in 1948. Aggressive jagged forms in his art suggest an interest in Futurism. The overlapping planes can be compared with some of the works of Magnelli and Prampolini. Soldati was allotted a room to himself at the 1952 Venice Biennale. Despite recurrent illness, he produced high quality work to the end of his career."