Volti antichi e "gusto moderno". Fortuna del ritratto etrusco e romano in Italia tra anni Venti e Trenta

The paper aims at analysing the critical debate on the ancient portraits and the revival of these artworks in the production of Italian modern sculptors between the Twenties and Thirties. During these two decades a significant transformation in the reading of the ancient portraiture occurred. The common interpretation of these portraits changed from a general ideal of well-balanced and classical perfection to a new concept of intense expressiveness. In this context the Greek sculpture, motionless and excessively poised, was mostly neglected. Conversely, the archaeological interest concentrated on the Etruscan and Roman portraits. These latter were regarded by several renowned scholars as models of sharp individual characterisation. Not only did these new archaeological theories lead to a renovation in the exhibition methods of the Italian museums, but they also deeply influenced the public, the private collectors and the artists. On the one hand, the ancient portraits represented a crucial example of rough expressive interpretation of the sitter. On the other, they could be also considered as unexpected models of plastic abstraction. From this point of view, a crucial role was also played by the pictorial and decorative allure of their surfaces worn away by time. It’s no by chance that many of the most important sculptors of the first half of the 20th century, such as Romano Romanelli, Arturo Martini and Marino Marini, found in the in these artworks a variety of anti-classical and modern suggestions. The ancient portraits appeared extremely useful to interpret in a modern way the faces of their contemporaries.