Pietro Pietra exhibition in Bologna showcases 82 works and deep animal empathy

A new exhibition at Palazzo d'Accursio in Bologna, titled "Pietro Pietra (1885-1956). La forza del segno," celebrates the Bolognese artist on the 140th anniversary of his birth. Curated by Daria Ortolani, the show brings together 82 original works that highlight Pietra's meticulous realism, his mastery of engraving, and his experimentation with drawing, watercolor, painting, and even a gonfalone painted in 1927 for the Unione Campanari Bolognesi, which is still preserved in the Campanile di San Petronio. The exhibition emphasizes Pietra's unique ability to capture the personality and emotional states of animals, treating them as individuals rather than generic representatives of their species. His empathetic observation allowed him to convey their inner lives through gaze, pose, and gesture. The show also includes a single work not by Pietra: a portrait of his father, Giulio Cesare Pietra, by Giovanni Paolo Bedini, underscoring the father's crucial role in the artist's formation. Pietra's deep connection to Bologna is evident in his detailed cityscapes, which preserve a vanished Bologna as timeless postcards. The exhibition runs at Palazzo d'Accursio.