Giovanni Segantini Still Hidden Behind His Legend
Giovanni Segantini toujours caché derrière sa légende
The first French exhibition dedicated to Italian-Swiss painter Giovanni Segantini (1858-1899) has opened at the Musée d'Orsay, following a tradition established since his death of foregrounding his personal story. Co-curated by his great-granddaughter Diana Segantini and art historian Gabriella Belli, the show emphasizes Segantini's self-mythology—his orphaned childhood, his self-presentation as an autodidact (though he took painting lessons), and his tragic death at 2,700 meters in the Swiss Alps—over his place in art history. The exhibition traces his career from Milan, where he was influenced by the scapigliati and supported by dealer Vittore Grubicy, to his adoption of peasant and alpine themes inspired by Anton Mauve and the Barbizon school.
