L'ultimo corso di Lionello Venturi a.a. 1930-31 e la teoria della deformazione - The last course of Lionello Venturi a.y. 1930-31 and the theory of deformation

Abstract

Lionello Venturi held his last course at the University of Turin in the academic year 1930/31 on the idea of deformation from Romanesque sculpture to Cézanne’s painting. This topic, which harked back to his 1926 book Il gusto dei primitivi, clearly positioned itself in the current debate and reinforced his choice to champion Impressionists and modern art. The manuscript of a conference held in Barcelona in March 1931 on the same subject not only brought to light an unpublished text by Venturi, but may also help understand how, by positing deformation as a constant need in the artist’s search for expression, the scholar intended to emphasise his rejection towards any form of repression in the name of beauty and the classical ideal. Deformation therefore as a statement of freedom.