Segantini 18: Ragazza che fa la calza – Strickendes Mädchen, 1888

Divisionism and Symbolism

In Savognin, Segantini found his way to colour from his dark-toned early work. The mountain landscape with its clear light inspired the artist to create a new pictorial language. Shortly after his arrival in Savognin, Segantini learned about a new way of painting: the colours were applied to the canvas unmixed, and when viewed from a distance, they merged into intense and lively areas of colour. Segantini further developed the new technique. He placed thin, often complementary brushstrokes next to each other, thus increasing the luminosity and intensity of the pictures. In Divisionism, he found a form of artistic expression thanks to which the mountains in his paintings shone in a new light. During his time in Savognin, Segantini increasingly turned to Symbolism: the communication of emotion and ideal became more important than fidelity to nature and facts.

In the audio you can hear how Segantini begins to use the divisionist painting technique in his 2nd version of the painting «Ave Maria bei der Überfahrt». The audio file can be found at the back of the pictures.