User:Wordorder/American Verismo

American Verismo
American Verismo is a catch-all phrase for an artistic style that draws its main inspiration from Italian art, both classical and modern. There is an implied nostalgia for work done “dal vero” (i.e., after life) whether classical (Raphael, Rubens, or Caravaggio) or nineteenth century (the Tuscan I Macchiaioli school) or more contemporary. Verismo means “realism” in Italian. But in Italy the term exists within an art historical context that has associations with opera and literature in the Risorgimento and post-Risorgimento period.

Verismo is somewhat akin to contemporary “atelier realism,” but the latter has been criticized for an academic uniformity and excessive attention to details. American Verismo is more poetic and linked to post-Impressionism, the Milan-based Scapigliatura ("wild hair") movement, and the I Macchiaioli’s commitment to social issues. But like atelier realism, American Verismo is associated with a painterly sketching style, use of broad brushstrokes, and the alla prima, “direct attack” technique of painting.

It is also linked to "al aperto" (open air) Impressionistic landscape painting and to painting en plein air, which has seen a resurgence in recent years. Eugene, Oregon, painter Jerry Ross started using the term “American Verismo” in the context of a painting class. This happened during several classes he taught at the Maude Kerns Art Center in Eugene (2008-2010) and then later at the Angels Fight Road Art Center plein air retreat on the McKenzie River during the summers of 2010 and 2011. Other followers of American Verismo in Oregon include Patti McNutt, John Bennington, Tim Kendall, Sally Jo Schwader, Victoria Biedron, Anne Bettman, Jean Denis, Nicole Valdez, Deborah Sedowski, Pamela Hoffmeister, Dylan Bragg, and Renee Nelson.

In portraiture and figurative work, American Verismo is influenced by Alessandro Milesi, Giacomo Favretto, and Ettore Tito. Emphasis is on scenes with political or moral narratives. Practitioners also believe in the importance of making sketch studies from old master paintings and sculptures. The principle of abstraction is important in this approach to painting and, in fact, abstraction is evident in some of Jerry Ross’s portraits that utilize a minimalist approach with just a few brushstrokes suggesting facial features (for example, Bersaglieri Veteran, Man from Milan, and The Girl on the Train).

As an aside, it is worth noting that the Scapigliati were the first Italian bohemian painters. "The Scapigliati are also famous for erasing any difference between art and life, and lived their lives of anti-conformism, anarchist idealism, and a desire for transcendence to the full. Like Baudelaire and Edgar Allan Poe, and French Symbolist poets Arthur Rimbaud and Paul Verlaine after them...  The main Scapigliati painters are Tranquillo Cremona, Daniele Ranzoni, and Arnoldo Bocklin, and the best-known sculptor is Giuseppe Grandi. ... Their style would influence later painters such as Medardo Rosso and Mosé Bianchi.  The movement was later immortalized by Giacomo Puccini, a protegé of Arrigo Boito, in his opera La Bohème in 1896, with a libretto written by Giuseppe Giacosa. Orchestra director Arturo Toscanini was another famous figure who shared the ideals of the Scapigliatura.

An important book The Art of the Macchia and the Risorgimento by Boime explains the concept of “the macchia” (stain or pattern), which is key to the American verismo approach. The macchia is a quick overall sketch setting down the largest areas of dark and light, although in practice this is often executed in a sienna hue that can then work as an underpainting. One can work on top of the macchia with wet-in-wet paint but taking great care not to obliterate or stray away from the macchia. Alternatively and somewhat less uncertain is to allow the macchia to dry completely (or nearly so) and then to apply patches (spots) of color directly in alla prima manner, lifted from a “color pool” of pigments already on the palette. Both in the macchia production phase and in the “overpainting” phase, there is an emphasis upon gesture and calligraphic brushwork. The macchia, if done properly, creates a effect ("effetto") ... a strong and immediate visual impact. This must be achieved early in the artistic process and sets the stage for all subsequent efforts. If this "effetto" or immediacy is missing then the work will not be successful.

Regardless of technique, the followers of American Verismo have a passion for working directly from life (the sitter, the nude, pure nature). They have a love for drawing and sketching dal vero, as well. Students are urged always to have a sketch pad and pencil at hand. The sketch is highly valued as coded shorthand for a painting. This "bozzetto" becomes a plan for a painting to be executed in the studio. In other instances, the sketch is made directly to canvas and the process unfolds in alla prima. In addition, the sketches, when successful, are highly valued in themselves.



In summary, American Verismo is:

1. Inspired and influenced by Italian art

2. Emphasizes dal vero or “after life” and realism

3. Is related to the I Macchiaioli School of Tuscany

4. Uses the macchia (stain, spot, or pattern) created by sketching

5. Is related to plein air (or al aperto) and direct painting (alla prima)

6. Stresses “effect” (effetto) or the immediate visual impact