Giovanni Segantini's Secret: Gold and Divisionism

Giovanni Segantini (1858-1899), a key figure in Italian modernism, used gold leaf and gold powder to intensify the luminosity of his divisionist paintings. Rejecting urban naturalism, he sought a lost paradise in the Alpine rural world, where he developed a personal version of divisionism with filament-like brushstrokes. He applied gold in varied ways: as leaf or powder for details like hair and irises, mixed with pigments for brush application, and hidden in underlayers to enhance color effusiveness, particularly for meadows and peaks but never skies. This technique, inspired by Vittore Grubicy de Dragon, gave his works a phosphorescent quality and symbolic perfection. The current exhibition "Giovanni Segantini. Je veux voir mes montagnes" at Musée Marmottan Monet in Paris (April 29 to August 16) showcases his luminous landscapes and mystical chiaroscuro, emphasizing dawn and dusk scenes that mark transitions between day and night, visible and invisible. His use of gold, especially in self-portraits like the 1895 one, elevates his artistic mission to a sacred level. The article draws on Gianna Piantoni's text in "Italies. L'art italien à l'épreuve de la modernité, 1880-1910" (Éditions de la RMN, 2001).