Chantecler 1946

Curator: Enrico Donati's "Chantecler," painted in 1946. I understand that it employs oil paint using the "matter painting" technique. Editor: Well, immediately, the looming forms suggest an ancient gathering—almost totemic in their presence, despite the disconcerting ambiguity of each figure. Curator: Donati came to New York during World War II, becoming involved with the Surrealist movement. "Matter painting" allowed artists like him to incorporate unorthodox materials directly onto the canvas, sometimes sand or textiles—really breaking down barriers. This physicality suggests a real preoccupation with the artwork as an object as well as representation. Editor: The figures…they’re biomorphic. The visual language is a blend of human, animal, even vegetable. See the suggestion of an eye on the large central figure? And, perhaps less overtly, there seems to be subtle implications of judgement, the kind delivered by deities in folklore. Curator: What’s striking is how that symbolic content relies almost entirely on texture and layering. Look at the rough, almost violently applied oil paint. Donati seems more interested in process. The labor involved here adds weight to this scene, the visible means of production mirroring the transformation represented within the canvas itself. Editor: True. However, look closely at the use of the colors. Despite their earthiness, Donati employs reds, blues and greens to create something far removed from literal observation. This is a psychological space; a realm of archetypes rendered with, granted, tactile, almost sculptural sensibility, still rooted in image. Curator: Yes, and the way Donati marries material exploration with Surrealist imagery anticipates later movements that overtly questioned traditional artistic hierarchies through their focus on materials, like Arte Povera. He anticipates a lot here! Editor: Indeed. By wrestling with primal symbols in an expressive physical form, Donati crafted a resonant composition, one that continues to beckon the subconscious. Curator: Yes. This piece prompts us to consider how material manipulation and symbolic representation entwine, reflecting shared memory through both technique and form.