DECADENZA DOLCE
Larger than life Italian fruit tarts, candied pears, oranges and Panettone are the subject matter approached by the renowned Italian Photorealist, Luigi Benedicenti. These small indulgences are magnified to the level of their importance to the artist, metaphorically amplifying the sweet and small pleasures in life. In the quaint Italian countryside where he resides, Benedicenti’s muse is the Pasticceria, the bakery.
Benedicenti’s technique is extraordinary. Blueberries, kiwis, strawberries and raspberries rest on scrumptious Italian crostini. Set on a monochromatic backdrop, syrup trickles down from the tantalizing desserts in the most realistic detail. Their grandeur is embraced, not ostracized, in these lavish neo-Pop Art depictions. In complete contrast with the late Italian still-life painter Giorgio Morandi (1890–1964), Benedicenti utilizes traditional Italian painting techniques reminiscent of the late Renaissance. He paints in perspective adding a tint of trompe l’oeil with immaculately painted wrappers. In Tartufata Reale (2011), the pristine truffle cake rests on a gold cake drum so realistically painted that, save for its extraordinarily large size, one is tempted to lift it off the canvas and indulge in the savory white truffle cream. Every morsel is reflected into the gold paper, so much so that one can even feel the texture of the dessert.
Distantly referencing still-life paintings reflecting on decadence and the theme of memento mori, Benedicenti’s masterpieces invoke an alternate view, memento vivere; that despite all the hardships and responsibilities of life, one must remember to live life to the fullest.
In addition to the still life, Benedicenti also chooses to paint the figure. In Primavera (2011), a blonde beauty reclines on purple and green foil. More perfect than the ideal, yet absolutely veristic, the woman’s life size physique is compared to a fine delicacy in the context of Benedicenti’s paintings. The harshness of the foil contrasts with her soft skin recalling the texture of the truffle cream in Tartufata Reale. Perhaps alluding to fleeting youth and beauty, this painting brings to mind Chuck Close’s, Big Nude (1967). Art historian Luciana Baldrighi writes of these paintings, “this monumentality emanates still-life’s ancient flavor and expresses daily values that lift the painting subject to an icon”. Comparing both painters leads to many disparities except for their approach to selecting subject matter. Both painters value their personal lives and that is reflected in their work. Benedicenti’s focus on the small things in life that bind him with his friends and family is comparable to Close’s loyalty to only painting those that are close to him. The subject is monumentalized thus heightening its reality and pushing it to the extreme. However, Benedicenti builds a more coded lexicon that embraces the minutiae of daily life. After all, the artist seems to be asking us, aren’t the intimate moments of life best shared with those that are closest to us?
Marina Press
October 2011, New York
