Oplà (Troupe Muscolini) 1915

Francesco Cangiullo made this drawing, Oplà (Troupe Muscolini), with ink on paper. It looks like Cangiullo was really going for it with these looping, figure-eight shapes, right? I’m imagining the moment, the hand moving, almost like handwriting, but instead of words, it’s building a body, a form. You know, sometimes when I’m painting, I get into this zone where I’m not even thinking about what I’m making, I’m just responding to the material. Maybe Cangiullo was in a similar space, letting the ink lead the way. And the way that single line becomes multiple things – a tightrope walker? – that’s where it gets interesting, because that ambiguity is where the possibilities live. It reminds me of some of Léger’s circus figures – this playful, almost cartoonish vibe, but with a deeper sense of experimentation, a kind of probing. It feels like Cangiullo is in conversation with so many artists. He’s not just repeating what’s been done, but pushing it, wrestling with it, to find his own voice.