A new painting has arrived at La Macchina Fissa. Gregorio Bellodi painted his beloved Alessia as she was sleeping. Here we see the black of her dress and hair used masterfully as a colour, just as Manet used it, or Orest Kiprensky in his Portrait of Pushkin (1827). I saw the canvas unfinished about a year ago in their studio in Mirandola (Modena) and immediately fell in love with it, just as it was. The feelings it evoked reminded me of certain Russian realist paintings of the 19th century that I saw in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow: Valentin Serov/Ilya Repin. I begged him not to finish it "too much" and he knew precisely what I meant and exactly when to stop. Then I begged him to sell it to me, and the rest is history, or I should say tonight is part of its history as it arrives in a new home. This is the largest canvas Bellodi has done so far and I couldn't be more proud of him as a painter (or his muse and collaborator). They are both extremely talented artists and great friends. #gregoriobellodi #alessiabaraldi #insettixilografi #oliosutela🎨 #oiloncanvas #newpainting #housemuseum @insetti_xilografi #artistsofitaly #mirandola #friendsfromyearsago #borgovirgilio #quadrinuovi #art #mostreamantova #associazioneculturalereadingretreatsinruralitaly #celebratinganewacquisition #celebrate #blackpaint #blackisacolourtoo #blackisacolor #portraitpainting #figurativeart #ilyarepin #valentinserov (presso La Macchina Fissa) https://www.instagram.com/p/CeXBKSNoFSw/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=