Mr. & Mrs. Rolf Weinberg, Zürich

Priv♒ate Collection, Switzerland (sold: Sotheby's, New ꦛYork, May 14, 1997, lot 406A)

Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

Zürich, Kunsthaus, Mostra Marini, 1962, no. 184

Rome, Palazzo Venezia, Mostra Marini, 1966, no. 82

Rome, Galleria Roman Norbert Ketterer, Campione d'Italia, 1976, no. 47

Franco Russoli, Marino Marini, Paintings and Drawings, Milan, 1963, no. 29, illustrated p. 81

Patrick Waldberg, Herber Read & Gualtieri Di San Lazzarro, Marino Marini, Complete Works, New York, 1970, no. 164, illustrated p. 425

Erich Steingraber & Lorenzo Papi, Marino Marini -- Paintings, Johannesburg, 1989, no. 264, illustrated p. 132

Excellent condition. Original canvas. There is a network of craquelure throughout, particularly in the more thickly-applied pigments. Under UV, there are a few very tiny specks of inpainting in the white area in the lower right quadrant, but there is no other visible restoration visible.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

I Guerrieri e la danza is a stunning and monumental composition in which Marini's favorite subject of horse and rider is combined with a theatrical setting.  His canvases are often populated with ꦅcircus performers, dancers, acrobats and jugglers, characterized🐻 by a mixture of playfulness and a sense of tragedy.  Echoing the images of harlequins and circus performers found in Picasso's Rose period paintings, the theme of performance was also associated in Marini's mind with ancient celebrations and festivals, rites that linked the present with the beginnings of civilization.

 

Fascinated by the richness of oil painting and the freedom it gave him, the artist himself commented: "Painting means entertaining the poetry of fact; and in the process of its making the fact becomes true." (quoted in S. Hunter, Marino Marini, The Sculpture, New York, 1993, p. 37). &nb꧑sp;The joy Marini found in the medium of oil painting is evident in the overlapping layers of pigment, resulting in the rich surface texture and a vibrant atmosphere. In the present work, the most densely painted areas are those where the figures overlap, mainly in the center of the composition, from which a radiating energy seems to spread centrifugally across the canvas.  While Marini derived his technique of fragmented forms from the Cubists, the depiction of a dynamic performance and bodies in motion certainly had its inspiration in the work of the Futurist paꦰinters.