Lion with lioness 1932

Antonio Ligabue made this oil on panel painting of a Lion with a lioness with very gestural marks and a limited but warm colour palette. I can imagine Ligabue working on it, shifting paint around, with a lot of trial, error, and intuition. I like to imagine what it must have been like for Ligabue to create this painting. What was he thinking about when he was making it? The paint here is quite thin, which is unusual for this artist, and the canvas support peeks through in places, which helps create a light and airy feeling. There’s a sort of hazy atmosphere to the landscape, made with earthy tones and muted greens. Ligabue’s paintings can be seen as a form of embodied expression, embracing ambiguity and uncertainty. Artists are in conversation with each other across time, inspiring each other’s creativity. His work relates to that of other painters and artists. There are multiple readings possible with his paintings.