The Fair of the Pots

(1892–1971)
Trained in Naples during the early 20th century under masters such as Vincenzo Volpe and Michele Cammarano, Biagio Mercadante found resonance starting in the early 1930s with Novecento trends. This work represents a later manifestation of the artist's "cubizing" synthesis, the result of a progressive simplification of forms begun in the 1940s. Influenced by Cézannisme, his painting achieves an ancient appearance: the market on the beach evokes the sale of jars, common since antiquity along the Cilento coast. A silent "decantation" of the image, where tight volumes and cool tones mark a distance from the celebration of reality typical of his early works.