THE TEARS OF WAR by Giovanni Battista Costantini

THE TEARS OF WAR by Giovanni Battista Costantini
Opening: Thursday, May 9th, 2024, at 6:00 PM
Exhibition: May 10th to June 8th, 2024
Cycle composed by Felipe Montt-Rettig for the exhibition Tears of War

THE TEARS OF WAR by Giovanni Battista Costantini
Opening: Thursday, May 9th, 2024, at 6:00 PM
Exhibition: May 10th to June 8th, 2024

The painter Giovanni Battista Costantini (Rome 1872 – 1947), now almost completely forgotten, had two distinct periods in his professional life. The first period was that of an honest professional. Almost entirely self-taught with the sole guidance of a choreographer, Alessandro Bazzani, from whom he inherited a taste for decoration, he proceeded, following in the footsteps of Giulio Aristide Sartorio, towards a “en plain air” painting style, characterized by a deep knowledge of the countryside and peasant life of the Roman countryside, which earned him entry into the “I XXV” Group of the Roman Campagna. Here, as was customary, he was dubbed “Il Grillo,” for his long and lean appearance matched with a lively physique. The second period coincides with the First World War. Due to his age, the painter did not participate as a soldier in the conflict, but following the example of his friend Sartorio, he went to observe what was happening at the front and was completely shocked. Between the years 1915 and 1921, he painted 45 paintings (“Lacrime di Guerra”, in English, Tears of War ) in which he described, with the utmost realism, like a modern photojournalist, all the horrors of war. The series, after much controversy (the painter did not want to participate, given the preconceived opposition of the nationalists – who were already close to the government at the time – who had accused him of defeatism), was exhibited at the First Biennale of Rome (1921), where, contrary to expectations, it received great public success. One of the most beautiful paintings, “The Spy,” won the First Prize of the Biennale, ensuring the painter an unexpected fame, which brought him important commissions. First among them, a large altarpiece of the Sacred Heart of Jesus for the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo (where the masterpieces of Caravaggio, Annibale Carracci, Bernini, Raphael, etc. are kept), under which in 1947 the Superintendent of Fine Arts of Rome, Federico Hermanin, delivered the funeral oration for the recently deceased painter. About twenty of those works, presented at the Roman Biennale at the time, have now been found by the gallerist Alessio Ponti, who has decided to exhibit them, still a valid warning today – with the conflicts that surround us – of the brutality of all wars. The catalogue is curated by Maurizio Berri, a longtime scholar of the “I XXV” Group of the Campagna Romana (Roman Countryside).

The Catalogue is on display.

Giovanni Costantini (Rome 1872 – 1947), MEMORY
Oil painting on canvas 126 x 144 cm, signed top right.

Giovanni Costantini (Rome 1872 – 1947), THE ENEMIES
Oil painting on canvas 92 x 104 cm, signed lower right, titled on the back.

Giovanni Costantini (Rome 1872 – 1947), AFTER THE STRUGGLE OF MEN
Oil painting on canvas 134 x 226 cm, signed lower right, titled on the back.

Giovanni Costantini (Rome 1872 – 1947), THE PROFITERS
Oil painting on canvas 113 x 174 cm, signed lower right, titled on the back.

Giovanni Costantini (Rome 1872 – 1947), THE MOTHER
Oil painting on canvas 126 x 73 cm, signed lower left.

Giovanni Costantini (Rome 1872 – 1947), VICTORY
Oil painting on canvas 77 x 121 cm, signed lower left and dated 1915, titled on the back.

Giovanni Costantini (Rome 1872 – 1947), THE DOMINION
Oil painting on canvas 100 x 81 cm, signed lower left, titled on the back.

Giovanni Costantini (Rome 1872 – 1947), THE EXAMPLE
Oil painting on canvas 124 x 190 cm, signed lower left, titled on the back.

Giovanni Costantini (Rome 1872 – 1947), THE PLANE
Oil painting on canvas 125 x 102 cm, signed lower left and titled on the back.

Giovanni Costantini (Rome 1872 – 1947), THE LETTER
Oil painting on canvas 93 x 88 cm, signed lower left, titled on the back.

Giovanni Costantini (Rome 1872 – 1947), THE CRAZY
Oil painting on canvas 71 x 76 cm, signed lower right, titled on the back.

Giovanni Costantini (Rome 1872 – 1947), LAST GREETING
Oil painting on canvas 113 x 164 cm, signed lower right.

Giovanni Costantini (Rome 1872 – 1947), THE BLIND
Oil painting on canvas measuring 120 x 156 cm, signed lower left.

Giovanni Costantini (Rome 1872 – 1947), THE DEATH CHAMBER
Oil painting on canvas 124 x 175 cm, signed lower left, titled on the back.

Giovanni Costantini (Rome 1872 – 1947), HOME RETURN
Oil painting on canvas 125 x 221 cm, signed lower left.

Giovanni Costantini (Rome 1872 – 1947), IN THE TRENCH
Oil painting on canvas 156 x 170 cm, signed lower left, titled on the back.

Giovanni Costantini (Rome 1872 – 1947), COMMUNION
Oil painting on canvas 122 x 98 cm, signed lower left.

Giovanni Costantini (Rome 1872 – 1947), THE FILLED TRENCH
Oil painting on canvas 113 x 203 cm, signed lower left, titled on the back.

Giovanni Costantini (Rome 1872 – 1947), DUTY
Oil painting on canvas 110 x 233 cm, signed top right.

Giovanni Costantini (Rome 1872 – 1947), REST
Oil painting on canvas 76 x 204 cm, signed lower right.

Giovanni Costantini (Rome 1872 – 1947), NOSTALGIA
Oil painting on canvas 112 x 221 cm, signed lower left, titled on the back.

Giovanni Costantini (Rome 1872 – 1947), FORGOTTEN
Oil painting on canvas measuring 155 x 90 cm, signed lower left, titled on the back.

Giovanni Costantini (Rome 1872 – 1947), THE EXODUS
Oil painting on canvas 104 x 154 cm, signed top right.

Giovanni Costantini (Rome 1872 – 1947), THE CROSS
Oil painting on canvas 138 x 178 cm, signed lower right, titled on the back.

Giovanni Costantini (Rome 1872 – 1947), THE INVASER
Oil painting on canvas 110 x 164 cm, signed lower left, titled on the back.

Giovanni Costantini (Rome 1872 – 1947), END OF A FIGHT
Oil painting on canvas 142 x 153 cm, signed lower left, titled on the back.

For evaluations of Giovanni Costantini’s artworks, visit AcquistoArte.it.