Antonio Telesca's Paintings as Moral Emblem for Democracy

In a lengthy essay on Artribune, critic Mauro Di Ruvo argues that contemporary art must serve democracy by embodying moral and social engagement. He traces this idea through art historian Roberto Longhi, who in 1958 praised Renato Guttuso's 'violent joy' against sterile abstraction. Di Ruvo contends that today's Italian political climate—marked by partisan warfare since the Meloni government—mirrors a decline in social morality that art can counteract. He cites the 79th anniversary of the Republic and President Mattarella's call for peace. Against market-driven art, he presents painter Antonio Telesca (born 1954 in Acerenza, based in Forenza) as a model of 'moral autonomy.' Telesca's works, such as his latest 'Alieno,' explore cosmological and universal themes, aiming to reveal the uniqueness of human reality rather than reducing diversity to gender. Di Ruvo links this to Pope Leo's emphasis on 'imitatio Christi' as the foundation of the common good. The essay concludes that true art must be the 'first standard-bearer' of democracy, not its 'first abortion.'