Progetto per un telo 

Enrico Baj made this design for printed fabric, with watercolor on paper. In postwar Italy, Baj co-founded the Nuclear Art movement, which explored anxieties about the atomic age. While this work isn’t overtly political, the design does reflect the influence of avant-garde movements like Tachisme, which emphasized spontaneous, gestural marks. Here we see an all-over pattern created by loose dabs of color. Baj made a name for himself by challenging traditional art institutions and engaging with contemporary social issues. His work often satirized political figures and critiqued the art world's commercialism. To understand Baj’s work fully, researchers might consult manifestos from the Nuclear Art movement. They could also examine the exhibition history of Italian abstract art in the 1950s, as well as critical literature of the period. The meaning of art lies in its historical context. The historian's role is to reveal how cultural forces and artistic manifestos can shape an artist's work.