Il Priore Di Garaveglia 1948

Bruno Cassinari made this oil painting of Il Priore Di Garaveglia, and he must have been really in the zone. Look at the purple hues and the directness of the marks! I can imagine him building up layers, scraping back, and then adding more. What was Cassinari thinking as he painted? This guy has a proper ‘sit’ to him. It's like he's sinking into his own space, framed by that ambiguous window. The way Cassinari uses paint, thick in some parts and thin in others, makes me feel like I'm seeing a memory take shape. The blue dot on the chest, a flash of inspiration or a stray thought? Painters are always talking to each other across time, and I see echoes of other artists in Cassinari's work – the intensity of expression, the love of paint. It's a reminder that painting is an ongoing conversation, a way of seeing and feeling that gets passed down and transformed.