Picciu’

59. Picciù, 1957, oil on hardboard, cm 70×50

The protagonist is Picciù, who is treated here not as a caricature, but with the dignity reserved for great figures. Picciù is portrayed half-length inside the artist’s studio at Villa Paolina. The backdrop is the intimate atmosphere of the studio, a place of art that ennobles the figure of this humble man.

The focus of the work is the expressiveness of his face, deeply marked by time and a life spent outdoors, under the sun and salty sea air. An unkempt beard frames strong features that speak of a poverty lived with pride. It is the image of a man who, despite hardship, has not lost his free spirit and the ability to laugh at the world. Picciù wears the simple clothes of those who live daily on the dock. He wears a striped T-shirt in a dull, undefined color, with the neck left open: a detail that conveys a sense of naturalness and extreme familiarity.  The brushstrokes are confident and dense, typical of Catarsini’s ability to “sculpt” the character of his subjects through color, and here he uses a skillful touch to avoid the grotesque. His image, immortalized by Catarsini’s brushes, remains as a historical testimony to that “world of yesterday” that the artist sought to protect from oblivion.

INSIGHTS

In this painting, Catarsini takes us to the heart of the most authentic Viareggio, that of the dockworkers and the popular figures. Speaking of Picciù means remembering a Viareggio that no longer exists, one built on popular solidarity and a beauty that also arose from dignified poverty.