Natura morta con bucranio is a still life painting by Italian artist Bruno Cassinari, created in 1942. The work exemplifies Cassinari’s distinctive style, which fused cubist and expressionist elements.
Cassinari (1912–1992) was born in Piacenza and studied at the Brera Academy in Milan under Aldo Carpi. In the post-war years, he emerged as a significant figure in Italian modernism, co-founding the Fronte Nuovo delle Arti in 1946 alongside artists including Renato Guttuso and Ennio Morlotti. His cubist-inspired compositions earned him international recognition, including a 1949 exhibition invitation from Pablo Picasso at the Antibes Museum of Art and the Grand Prize for Painting at the 1952 Venice Biennale.
About Bruno Cassinari
Cassinari’s practice bridged abstraction and figuration, drawing on both cubist formal innovation and expressionist emotional intensity. His still-life paintings from this period demonstrate his engagement with modernist reduction while maintaining a tactile, painterly surface. The artist later relocated to Venice in the 1960s and continued working until his death in Milan in 1992, leaving behind a body of work recognised as central to twentieth-century Italian painting.
Details
- Artist: Bruno Cassinari (1912–1992)
- Year: 1942
- Medium: Painting
- Subject: Still life with bucranium (ox skull)
- Movement: Cubism, Expressionism
Frequently asked questions
Who was Bruno Cassinari?
Bruno Cassinari was an Italian painter and sculptor born in Piacenza in 1912 who studied at the Brera Academy in Milan. He worked in a style that combined cubist and expressionist elements and became a leading figure in post-war Italian modernism, winning the Grand Prize for Painting at the 1952 Venice Biennale.
What artistic movements influenced this work?
The painting reflects both cubism and expressionism, the two primary movements that shaped Cassinari’s artistic practice throughout his career. His approach merged the formal innovations of cubist abstraction with the emotional intensity of expressionist painting.
When was this painting created?
Natura morta con bucranio was painted in 1942, several years before Cassinari co-founded the Fronte Nuovo delle Arti in 1946, an association dedicated to revitalising post-war Italian art.
