Rolando Nicodemi (1922-2014) - Melagrane secche e campanaccio

Author: Rolando Nicodemi
Title: Walnuts and Drum Mallets
Year: 1992
Dimensions: 40 x 30 cm
Support: Canvas
Technique: Oil on canvas
Signature: “Nicodemi 92” in the lower left corner
Provenance: Private Collection
Subject: The canvas presents to us a still life. The genre, which is favored by the painter, accompanies us toward an essential painting that shows its adherence, in relatively recent terms, to a delicate predilection for the metaphysical nature of the painting. Metaphysics, from which the painter draws sustenance, can be ascribed to that of important artists who worked in the Emilia-Romagna region; we are talking about artists such as Carlo Carrà, Giorgio Morandi and, above all, Filippo de Pisis. It is precisely these artists who seem to have been the masters of the painter Nicodemi, who has managed, in more recent times, to translate the plastic lesson that accompanies a return to order and to color. Beyond this, Metaphysical painting is recognized for its ability to find within clear and sharp representations the philosophical concepts devoted to grasping the essence of things.
Style: Rolando Nicodemi handles painterly matter with great rigor and essentiality, without neglecting the aesthetic data. The composition is well calibrated, where all objects find their dimension. The painting, very delicate, also leaves room for shadow tones that heighten its depth. Linked to this are tones that emphasize the softness of the painting. The formal solidity, moreover, plays with the painterly tones of a cold little disc.