Skip to main content
Washington University in St. Louis
Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts

Create an account to add artworks to your personal collections.

Enter your email address below to recieve an email to reset your password.

An email has been sent to your inbox to reset your password.

image alt

Afro

Il Giardino della Speranza (The Garden of Hope)

1954

image alt
1 / 1

Afro Basaldella, who was known by his first name only, was one of the early members of a group of postwar Italian artists called the Gruppo degli Otto (Group of Eight) who saw in abstraction a form of artistic autonomy and liberation from both the politicized restrictions of communist socialist realism in the postwar period and the figurative realism that had been the official art of fascist Italy under dictator Benito Mussolini. Afro’s own declarations about art—such as his 1955 statement, “The picture should be an enclosed world; within its limits the drama unfolds”—suggest he associated the act of making art with an existential experience, a struggle to express meaning that is evident in the material qualities of the artwork. Indeed, with its references to inner states, dreamlike recollections, and mysterious reminiscences, his work often upholds this association. Through its active cluster of shapes that imply lively, forward motion across a blue field, Il Giardino della Speranza evokes, as its title suggests, themes of hope, progress, and fecundity. For Afro, abstraction was often conceived of as an expression of a subconscious state or metaphysical experience that could unite both the suffering and beauty of humanity. [Exhibition label, 2015]

  • Artist Afro (Italian, 1912–1976)
  • Title Il Giardino della Speranza (The Garden of Hope)
  • Date 1954
  • Medium Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions unframed | 57 x 68 7/8 in.
  • Credit line Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Richard K. Weil, 1962
  • Object number WU 3918

From Picasso to Fontana: Collecting Modern and Postwar Art in the Eisendrath Years, 1960–1968
Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis, 01/23/2015 - 04/19/2015

Afro: Il periodo americano/Afro: The American Period
Museo di arte moderna e contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto (Trento, Italy), 03/17/2012 - 07/08/2012

Modernism at Midstream: From Europe to America and Back Again
Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis, 09/04/1983 - 11/06/1983

Salute to St. Louis
Stix, Baer & Fuller Department Store, 10/04/1965 - 10/16/1965

University Exhibition
Stix, Baer & Fuller Department Store, 09/01/1965 - 09/01/1965

Contemporary European Paintings and Sculpture from a St. Louis Private Collection
Saint Louis Art Museum, 08/01/1955 - 08/29/1955

Afro: Exhibition of Paintings
Catherine Viviano Gallery, 04/25/1955 - 05/21/1955

Contemporary Italian Art: Painting, Drawing, Sculpture
Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum, University of Minnesota, 12/01/1955 - 12/23/1955
Saint Louis Art Museum, 10/13/1955 - 11/14/1955

May 27, 1955 – May 22, 1961
Richard K. Weil (1902–1996) and Florence S. Weil (1914–1985), also known as Mrs. Richard K. Weil, St. Louis, purchase from the above

May 22, 1961–present
Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Richard K. Weil

Inscription Recto, lower right, in black paint: Afro. 1954.

Inscription Verso, upper center of stretcher, in pencil: 1954 "IL GIARDINO DELLA SPERANZA" 145 X 175

Label Verso, upper left of stretcher, white rectangular label, printed text with inscriptions in black ink: E 7664.23 / [printed:] CATHERINE VIVIANO GALLERY / 42 east 57 street new york 22, n.y. / [printed:] Artist [inscribed:] Afro / [printed:] Title [inscribed:] "Il Giardino della Speranza" / [printed:] No. [empty space] Size [inscribed:] 64 x 59 in. / [printed:] Date [inscribed:] 1954

This artwork record may be incomplete or need refinement. Our staff actively researches the collection and revises records when new information is available. If you have questions or comments about this record, please contact us.

Related Content

go to Contemporary Italian Art: Painting, Drawing, Sculpture page
no image
Exhibitions

Contemporary Italian Art: Painting, Drawing, Sculpture

October 13, 1955–December 23, 1955
go to Modernism at Midstream: From Europe to America and Back Again page
no image
Exhibitions

Modernism at Midstream: From Europe to America and Back Again

September 04, 1983–November 06, 1983
go to University Exhibition page
no image
Exhibitions

University Exhibition

September 01, 1965–September 01, 1965
go to Afro: Exhibition of Paintings page
no image
Exhibitions

Afro: Exhibition of Paintings

April 25, 1955–May 21, 1955
go to Salute to St. Louis page
no image
Exhibitions

Salute to St. Louis

October 04, 1965–October 16, 1965
go to Contemporary European Paintings and Sculpture from a St. Louis Private Collection page
no image
Exhibitions

Contemporary European Paintings and Sculpture from a St. Louis Private Collection

August 01, 1955–August 29, 1955
go to Afro: Il periodo americano/Afro: The American Period page
no image
Exhibitions

Afro: Il periodo americano/Afro: The American Period

March 17, 2012–July 08, 2012
go to From Picasso to Fontana: Collecting Modern and Postwar Art in the Eisendrath Years, 1960–1968 page
no image
Exhibitions

From Picasso to Fontana: Collecting Modern and Postwar Art in the Eisendrath Years, 1960–1968

January 23, 2015–April 19, 2015

Image Reproduction Request Form

To request image materials and/or permission to reproduce a work of art from the Museum's collection, please complete and submit the form below. The information you provide here will enable us to process your request and assess the appropriate images, permissions, and any applicable fees. 

Typically, image requests that do not require new photography can be completed within three weeks. Whenever possible, rush orders may be accommodated, although additional fees may apply.

If you have questions, please contact Kristin Good, associate registrar, at kristin.good@wustl.edu.

Checking this box constitutes a legal signature. By checking this box, the applicant agrees to abide by all terms and conditions under which permission is granted to reproduce works of art in the collection of the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, and that permission is contingent upon payment of any applicable fees.

* Required fields

test View details