In the Italian language conversation class I’ve been following the tutor and I have been developing an interest in the work of the Italian modernist Renato Guttuso. I’ve admired his work for some time but through her I’ve been led to a far more full appreciation of it. In our last session, this morning, between the two of us we produced a half a dozen of the preliminary sketches which Guttuso made on the way to the final realisation of his Crocifissione (Crucifixion) of 1940-1. It has been really interesting to see the way in which his vision developed over quite a long period.
Several aspects of this process I have found particularly interesting. In the first place, it has been very instructive to observe his patience in allowing an idea to emerge through a number of drafts. In each one a different element of what ended up in the final version is examined in a slightly different way. Some ideas he hits upon quickly, and these persist, as it is evident that he finds them satisfactory. (The treatment of one of the thieves crucified with Jesus is a case in point.) Others are put through a number of contrasting versions before he is satisfied with the result. Then it is almost the case that he surprises himself by lighting upon, at the last moment, an idea that is novel. The direct quotation from Picasso’s Guernica, I suppose, is an innovation of this kind. No doubt I will spend quite a bit of time digesting all of this material.
One thing I have learned, however, is that it is probably advisable not to rush too quickly into decisions about content and composition. In this respect I am probably too lazy, in that I don’t have the patience to make these kinds of experiments before committing myself to content and composition. Perhaps pictures should be allowed to grow in a kind of organic fashion. It does make you think about the questionable notion many people have of the nature of “inspiration”, which doesn’t have to be a momentary flash of insight, but can equally be the result of a long process of reflection. “Inspiration” in this case consists of a final realisation of the rightness of a solution which has been long-sought.
Incidentally, I will not be posting for the next few days, as I will be taking a short holiday with my wife, in the Yorkshire Dales.