Enrico Baj, The Funeral of the Anarchist Pinelli (1972)
Enrico Baj
(Milano, 1924 – Vergiate, 2003)
I funerali dell’anarchico Pinelli
The Funeral of the Anarchist Pinelli
1972
Legno multistrato, passamanerie, acrilici e collage su tavola
Polywood panel, trimmings, acrylics and collage on board
From the museum description:
“In I funerali dell’anarchico Pinelli /The Funeral of the Anarchist Pinelli], what is striking is the explicit reference to the composition and the immersive space of Picasso’s Guernica; the masterpiece that Baj took as one of the “very rare instances” in which art engaged a painter in taking sides when confronted with his historical period.
Milan was shocked by the devastating neo-fascist bomb blast that killed seventeen people in Piazza Fontana on the afternoon of 12 December 1969, and by the death of Giuseppe Pinelli who was seen falling from a window of the Milan police headquarters where he was detained for questioning regarding the attack. The event depicted in Baj’s work is tightly linked to the feverish political debate that developed over the years following that massacre, to the mistakes made during investigations, to the failed identification by police detectives of the neo fascist origin of the blast, and to the accusations against the police who were blamed for Pinelli’s death.
The most dramatic peak was reached on 17 May 1972, when police lieutenant Luigi Calabresi was assassinated further to a smear campaign that pinpointed him as the person responsible for Pinelli’s death. The Italian Court would later confirm the complete lack of the lieutenant’s responsibility.
Calabresi’s death occurred on the eve of Baj’s exhibition on schedule at Palazzo Reale in Milan, which would showcase the work I funerali dell’anarchico Pinelli and which was cancelled because of the assassination of the police lieutenant.”