Portrait of a Woman
Technical Details
-
Title
Portrait of a Woman -
Author
Filippo De Pisis (Filippo Tibertelli) -
Year
1950 -
Dimensions
cm 55 x 44 -
Inventory
5076 -
Room
41 A -
Signature
F. Pisis/50
The first symptoms of mental illness were felt by De Pisis between 1946 and 1947, but the real breakdown occurred in 1948, when the painter first stayed at the Villa Fiorita clinic in Brugherio.
This picture, painted in 1950, undoubtedly depicts the face of a nursing home attendant, as do other canvases from that period (Nurse Norina, Portrait of a Man at Villa Fiorita). The portrait is rough, the features are expressionistic, the intensity of the gaze is almost unbearable and reveals the painter’s sensitivity, which is practically laid bare. From the scaffolding of the face emerge feverish cheeks and frowning eyes, fixed on the viewer; the background is not hinted at in the slightest and the image strikes us directly, without mediation.
