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| The painting of Ernani Costantini * |
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by Paolo Rizzi |
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It is inconceivable that a true artist
should not pour out all his cultural, sentimental and even ideological
experience onto the canvas. Costantini has his own ideas, his own specific
cultural standpoint: he loves history, he is a religious man, he believes
in these values, he intends to act in order to affirm them in society.
However, the discretion with which his 'credo' is introduced in his
painting also provides us with a measure of what he intends by freedom.
Politely, almost modestly, the artist presents his image of the world
to the public, without imposing it from above, without forcing its
acceptance.
This image is similar to nature’s first suggestion: it almost
blends in. A meadow, a flower, a nude of a young woman, a glimpse of
Venice, a bunch of flowers, perhaps a Pierrot costume hanging over
a chair: everything is presented with the joy of its creation, like
a fragrant gift to the spectator. There is great courtesy in the dialogue:
the outstretched hand caresses and then it is immediately withdrawn.
The gift is enjoyed, it warms the heart.
Behind this apparent simplicity, beyond this liberal grace, there is
great craftsmanship, an ability which is immediately apparent to our
eyes. Though it is not only this: it would be an error to judge Costantini
according to the mere correctness of formal rules.
All that is presented in the freshness of his painting is the fruit
of a long process of purification, attentive selection, and synthesis.
He has reached the point where he strips the image of any circumstance,
until a merging (which may appear utopian) with the unchangeable laws
of nature is attempted.
In an era like ours, absorbed in the quest of taste (and therefore
of fashion) his is an attempt to achieve a universal expression. The
painter wishes to say something which is not linked to the moment.
This is the truth revealed to us through Costantini: painting can also
mean the vanquishing of an immanence which condemns us. A painting
becomes the bearer of the words which remain with us: the sign of a
presence, which is in fact universal. Behind this concept there can
only be an underlying religiousness, the faith in certain values which
transcend time. Nature (a tree, a fruit, a flower) becomes the bearer
of another reality - transcendent, therefore divine – through
which the values of the spirit are manifest. Each image, every detail
of the image, refers to something elsewhere…
Colours may be subtly elegant or bright and vivid, the shape may be
quick or flowing, the atmosphere sunny or moonlit: they are moments
which do not reflect an incidental situation, but its transposition
into the sphere of spirituality, where the essence, perfume, and the
eternal measure of existence remain. It is up to us to identify with
this reality. |
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(1980) |
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Now, so much time has passed since those
words, and on the occasion of Ernani Costantini turning eighty, all
is confirmed. Everything: that is not only his painting from 1980 onwards,
not only the strong reaction of the artist to the loss of his adored
wife Lina, not only the advancing of time which forges the character
of a man even further and strengthens his culture. But also and above
all the reinvigoration of the faith in those values which have remained
intact despite the increasingly chaotic convulsions of the society
in which we live.
Ernani’s painting, so fresh, so confident, so gracious, has become
the mouth piece of a desire, which is spreading among the most attentive culture, to include man’s every
expression in a sphere which is not that fickle one, of taste. In
painting we like to find – even
if not explicit – a message: almost a parable, an allegory, certainly
a voice which, as it reaches into the depths of our mind, brings us
comfort.
This is the value of the white haired Ernani with his steady gaze:
the ability to extract from every image, even the most routine one,
the seemingly habitual (a view of Venice or the study of a nude girl)
the essence of antique and still new values perhaps modestly gathered
to himself, and in certain cases filled with nostalgia. He loves to
repeat: "Painting serves to re-evoke sentiments".
Although the technical quality may be excellent, as is reflected in
certain enchanting transparencies of light and colour, yes, this remains
as a specific instrument of language, like a good melody in music.
However, in the end what matters is the message of the spirit. Distributed
by the artist like simple bread to his fellow diners: and which it
is up to us, with trepidation, to render sacred. |
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(2002) |
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*^ from the catalogue Sintesi
antologica della pittura di Ernani Costantini, [Brief
Anthology of the paintings of Ernani Costantini], 2002 |
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