Visual Analysis
“Risveglio”, Parco Belvedere, Lugano
When looking into the enormous hive we call society, one can be influenced by different things. One source of the influence is on the surface of wavy waters of modern days - it is art. We encounter it very often, going to the cinema on weekends, even every day, in the form of street art. Art is a true creative act that is used by the artist as a form of expression. Art can be seen in galleries in so many different forms: sculptures, paintings, photographs, and even mosaics and murals. All these forms are unique products of beautiful human mind, a result of the pattern of meaningful and spontaneous thoughts that spring here and there on a day-to-day basis.
Sculptures of people and objects can be inspiring and educational to many people. The walkway in Lugano, Switzerland, is an attractive path that runs along with the glacial lake of the same name. Belvedere Park, located in the middle of the pathway, is a pleasant blend of nature and culture. Sculptures from many different countries and eras are gathered there. Yet, with the smooth lake behind its contour, one of the sculptures stands out among others in Belvedere Park. It is a female figure called “Risveglio”, or “The Awakening”, created by Mario Bernasconi in1954.
Mario Bernasconi is a Swiss-Italian sculptor. He was born in 1899 in Pazallo (Lugano) in a house facing a museum. As a child, Bernasconi was attracted to San Salvatore, a mountain where he discovered clay and received his first inspiration. He drew bas-reliefs, studied human body and was fully convinced that his future lays in art, all of which led him to becoming a sculptor.
“Risveglio” pictures a woman awakening from her sleep. She lays on something resembling a thick bedsheet. This bedsheet underlines the topic of the sculpture and technically serves as its foundation. The sculpture itself is a masterful piece of work. Woman’s legs are formed in manner to show that the lower part of her body is still relaxed. We can clearly see that leg muscles are not strained at all; she does not want to get up straight away. It is important to point out that the lower part of her body is quite bigger than the upper as of the style of ancient Greek sculptures. Then goes a beautiful, skillfully shaped stomach. It is embellished with a belly button. It is small, but significantly adds to the beauty of the whole sculpture.
In my opinion, the curve of the upper body part is the most important part of the sculpture. It signifies and stresses the graceful process of awakening: lower part of the body still rests, while the upper performs the first move towards the beginning of the day. The muscles below breasts are knowingly shaped a little bit strained. The breasts are shaped in a realistic manner and are proportional to woman’s body.
The woman raises her hands and rests them above the head, so frontal shoulder muscles are also correspondently shaped slightly strained. Lower parts of the hands and the armpits are exceptionally detailed. So is the neck, especially the lower part. Here muscles stand out the most, because the woman raises her head and seemingly turns away from blinding morning sun.
Woman’s thin face expresses peace and grace. Mouth, ears, eyes and nose are small, but they do not look disproportional on the head. Concurrently, the head does not look disproportional to the body either.
The woman has long hair that falls down almost to chest level. This is a smart technical decision, because it complements the bedsheet as sculpture’s foundation.
Overly, I enjoyed “Risveglio”; it is masterfully executed and a flawless work of art. It is very graceful, elegant and strongly underlines the woman’s beauty in the early hours of the day. I also would like to say that placing it near Lugano Lake was a right decision. The sculpture and the lake complement each other superbly providing a magical sightseeing to their visitors.
References
Lugano Tourism. The Mario Bernasconi Museum. Accessed 29 Jan 2014. Retrieved from http://www.lugano-tourism.ch/en/188/the-mario-bernasconi-museum.aspx?idActivity=23&idMod=561
