(Milan 1852 - 1917)
A SCENE INSPIRED BY EDGAR ALLAN POE'S THE MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE. THE APE ABOUT TO ATTACK THE WOMAN
Oil on canvas, pasted on cardboard. cm 50 x 19,5. Authenticated by Conconi's daughter
Provenance: the artist's family.
The subject of this painting is one of the most dramatic moments of the short story by Edgar Allan Poe The Murders in the Rue Morgue and surely Conconi was deeply influenced in the choice of subject by the many drawings created by his colleague and friend Gaetano Previati at the end of the eighty, to illustrate the story. Previati's influence is also evident in Conconi's choice of the vertical format and in the layout
Conconi studied architecture at the Accademia di Brera and the Politecnico di Milano. He came into contact with members of the literary and artistic circles of the Scapigliatura – the Italian equivalent of the French Bohème– notably Tranquillo Cremona and Daniele Ranzoni, both of whom influenced his early paintings. In the 1880s Conconi moved from the Realism of Scapigliatura toward Symbolism. The awards he received in Paris in 1900 and Munich in 1913 led to his international recognition.
Conconi, who personally saw to the production of virtually all his plates, was the leading exponent in Lombardy of Acquaforte monotipata. This technique involved the artist drawing directly onto the ink covering the plate, prior to pulling the impression. In this way each resultant print has different characteristics.
