Gioco del diabolo 1951

Massimo Campigli made "Gioco del diabolo" with lithographic ink and crayon. The fuzzy texture and limited palette speak to a process that's all about the hand. There's a kind of awkwardness that I find really charming, especially in the face of the figures who seem caught between flatness and volume. The way the crayon is applied gives the figures a grainy, almost sculptural quality, like they're emerging from a block of stone. I love the way Campigli leaves so much of the paper showing through, creating this sense of transparency and lightness. The white becomes as important as the drawn areas. Campigli's work often reminds me of Giorgio de Chirico, with the same sense of mystery and a nod to classical forms. There's a sense of timelessness, as if we're looking at figures from some ancient frieze.