The Artwork of the month - August 2021

Three swimmers' bodies can be seen in the green emerald water; a fourth is standing on the diving board, while a woman in a white swimming costume looks out over the horizon from behind. In the background we can see the outline of a city that can be identified with Venice, as the pink domes and bell tower would suggest. It was in 1940 that Omiccioli took part in the Biennale di Venezia for the first time, presenting a portrait, Anna, which exemplified his particular lyrical and descriptive talent.
In reality, the artist, who had been close to the Scuola Romana since 1933 and in particular to Mario Mafai, with whom he shared a deep friendship, expressed his most convincing work in landscapes and urban views: From the 1940s onwards, he produced numerous views of Monte Mario and Grotta Rossa, the Tevere and the Lazio coastline between Torvaianica and Passoscuro; the Orti series documented the transformation of the Flaminio district during the Ventennio ( the Fascist government's period); in other views with a more social tone, the painter depicted the life of the poor at Ponte Milvio, the neighbourhoods full of evacuees and shacks during the war and the Resistance, and the Roman streets full of vendors, carts and poor people.

In this scene, characterised by a dense, vivid colour, a carefree atmosphere is present, intensified by the light of the summer light: The bodies of the swimmers are defined in a synthetic and full-bodied way, as are the multifaceted sea waves, highlighting the many Italian and international references (in particular Rolando Monti's depiction of the human body, the solid and constructive brushstrokes of Paul Cézanne's swimmers, the expressionist colours of Maurice de Vlaminck) that help to define Omiccioli's rich artistic personality.

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