Ferrara Exhibition Explores Art and the Human Psyche

A major exhibition in Ferrara examines the intersection of art and psychology, featuring works by Giovanni Segantini, Gaetano Previati, Luigi Conconi, Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo, Angelo Morbelli, and Edvard Munch. The show traces how late 19th-century artists translated psychological states into visual form, influenced by positivist physiognomy, Freudian studies, and the spread of psychoactive substances in Europe. Segantini's self-portrait conveys the martyrdom of art, while Previati's 'Fumeria d'oppio' uses opium smoke as a metaphor for the soul's lightness. Morbelli's 'Asfissia!' depicts a double suicide with realist detachment, reflecting societal constraints. Pellizza da Volpedo's 'Ricordo di un dolore' memorializes his deceased sister through the subject's pallid immobility. Munch's 'Bambina malata' channels personal loss into an expressionist-symbolist idiom. The exhibition also contrasts Nordic gloom with Italian solar optimism: Previati's 'Maternità' and Segantini's 'L'angelo della vita' celebrate maternal love through divisionist technique and natural symbolism, influencing Futurists Balla, Carrà, and Boccioni. The show is held at Palazzo dei Diamanti in Ferrara.