Untitled 

Aldo Locatelli made this untitled painting, sometime before his death in 1974, likely with oil on canvas. The image presents us with a classical scene – Christ’s journey to Calvary – though Locatelli’s method of representation is far from traditional. Notice how Christ’s body is contorted, dominated by the coarse features of the figures around him. The emotional intensity and physicality of the scene seem to betray the artist’s concerns with more modern, social realities. Locatelli was an Italian artist who emigrated to Brazil in 1947, where he produced a number of public works, many of which had religious themes. The social and political climate of mid-20th century Brazil was one of inequality and oppression, and a progressive Catholic Church sought to address these issues. The visual codes employed here create a relatable image of human suffering, making Christ’s ordeal an allegory for the struggles of everyday people. To understand Locatelli’s work more fully, we can research the archives of the institutions he worked for, and examine the influence of liberation theology on the cultural output of the time. In doing so, we can appreciate how art responds to social and institutional contexts.