ArtsCinema Series: Painting the Soul of the 20th Century: Pellizza da Volpedo at The Park Theatre

A docufilm recounting the story of the tormented life of divisionist painter Giuseppe Pellizza (1868-1907), famous for his work The Fourth Estate – shown to the public for the first time at the 1902 Turin Quadriennale and housed today at the Galleria d’Arte Moderna (Modern Art Gallery) in Milan – as well as for his ability to study the soul and human society. Exploring the places he lived in as well as his artistic sensitivity, with Fabrizio Bentivoglio as our guide and “narrative consciousness”, this documentary reveals the artist’s emotions and his vision of reality through a sophisticated use of shots from different angles inspired by the colors in his paintings. Pellizza’s tragic end – he took his own life in 1907 following the tragic loss of his wife – is part of the story and makes the emotional bond between the viewer and the artist’s work all the more profound.