Q130443627

This 1891 canvas by Plinio Nomellini, held in the Gallerie d'Italia in Milan, dates from a pivotal period in the artist's career when he was moving decisively toward Divisionism under the influence of Giovanni Segantini and Gaetano Previati. By 1891 Nomellini had already absorbed the chromatic theories of Ogden Rood and the pointillist experiments of Georges Seurat, adapting them to an Italian sensibility marked by strong social conscience. The year 1891 was also when Nomellini faced legal troubles related to his anarchist sympathies—struggles that deepened his commitment to depicting working-class subjects and the elemental forces of nature. Works of this period show him testing the expressive limits of divided colour, building surfaces through small, vibrating strokes that dissolve form into light. The Gallerie d'Italia collection context places it among significant Italian works of the late nineteenth century navigating between Symbolism and the new scientific approaches to colour.

The Divisionist technique is evident in the systematic separation of colour strokes, allowing optical mixing at viewing distance. Nomellini uses longer, more gestural marks than strict pointillism, giving the surface a lyrical energy. Colour relationships follow complementary contrasts to intensify luminosity rather than simply record local colour.