This is Mario Beltrami's first self-portrait. He was born in Casalmaggiore in 1902 and he studied with master Ambrogio Alciati at Brera Academy.
He arranged a partnership with two other artists from Casalmaggiore, who were about the same age as him: Aldo Mario Aroldi and Goliardo Padova, who were known for a restricted period as "the 3 of the 900", showing themselves more up to date than the movement theorized by Margherita Sarfatti.
Finding its premises in the magazine "Valori Plastici" and in metaphysical painting, Novecento characterized much of the painting and sculpture during the 1920s and 1930s and it suggested a return to order. As an alternative to modern avant-garde, the movement wanted to reproduce the most pure Italian tradition of the origins (Giotto) and of the Renaissance, giving great importance to volumetric forms. Novecento's first subjects were everyday matters (landscapes, still lives or portraits), which were proposed in an idealized guise, which was sometimes called "magic realism".
The two brothers is ascribable to 20th century's spirit. It was painted in 1931: it is a double portrait (here there is the variation with the sister), which is a type of Renaissance style modernised by De Chirico and largely successful in that period.
Beltrami proposes a very refined image in this self-portrait and he represses his more sincere vocation for colours and naturalism. The oval head and a lonely white flower, which is symbol of superiority and rarity, confer to this image an almost cardinalitial image and a spiritual aura. This is also underlined by dull colours, such as grey-light blue, in Chiarismo style.
