Gudea Priest of Akkad 1958

Enrico Donati painted 'Gudea Priest of Akkad' in tones of red, white, and black, but it’s the surface I find most intriguing. Can’t you just imagine Donati, brush in hand, layering each stroke, adding textures and depths like an archeologist digging through earth? It must have been a real balancing act of control and chance. He was maybe scraping back, wiping away, and then building up again. That square of red feels so grounded and ancient. The rough, fragmented shapes create this tension. It has this visceral presence, like the priest himself. The paint's physicality is so present; the canvas is like skin. Donati was part of that post-war generation, like Rothko, exploring abstract forms to express deep feelings. These painters always seemed to challenge the viewer to engage, to find their own meaning in the abstract. The way Donati handled paint feels so contemporary, it makes me want to rush back to my studio.