The Artwork of the Month - August 2023

The bronze portrays a young man preparing to dive. His body is naked with his legs flexed slightly and his upper part bent to the front; the arms are extended at the back, the hands are closed with the fingers stretched out. The look, fixed in front of him, has an expression that is absorbed, almost dazed: the hair has been shaved off, the eyes are wide open, the slightly open mouth reflects the mental tension preceding the sporting action. The impression is given by the compact modelling and a smooth, shiny surface, bringing out the tension in the anatomy.

The sculpture, shown according to the inventories, was purchased by the Governatorato at the I Quadriennale Nazionale d'Arte in Rome, opened at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni in January 1931, ended in June of the same year. The well-made bronze, is part of the group of sculptures that Lorenzetti produced in a very short period from 1930 onwards - by using bronze and plaster covered with a coloured patina to simulate terracotta or metal - revealing a clear desire to recover ancient statuary, albeit with a modern language that, in its synthetic and almost archaic volumetry, can be traced back to Novecento culture.

Born in Mantova in 1908 from a poor family, Lorenzetti was supported in his studies by the Franchetti Foundation, whose subsidy enabled him to attend the Accademia Milanese, an academy where he studied with Adolfo Wildt, among other teachers. The unexpected death of the artist, who died at only 23 years of age, makes the few surviving works particularly valuable. In the civic collections of the Museo di Palazzo Te in Mantova, a replica of the Ragazzo che si tuffa in plaster coating is preserved.

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