Aldo Mario Aroldi was born in Casalmaggiore in 1899. He started working as sculptor, but he obtained success with xylography at the beginning of the 1930s, in particular through the realization of ex-libris.
Floating mills are his preferred themes, to which Aroldi dedicated a collection of xylographic tables between 1933 and 1936. The mills are represented both in their entirety and in detailed close-ups; inner glimpses are not developed through descriptive incision, but through a more imaginative one.
These xylographies are characterized by the basic contrast between black and white and by strong marks, which are obtained by beating the gouge on the wood mould hardly. The stamp should be obtained from this mould.
Later, the artist's style changed: he switched to thin burins to engrave the wood. Through this method, he obtained thinner hatchings and chiaroscuro shades (as in the Maternity exposed at the Venice Biennale in 1936), which replaced the previous essential nature between black and white masses.
The theme of the river is expressed not only by floating mills, but also by boats and fishermen. These images represent inner taverns and farmers oppressed by effort and misery. This topic conforms with the regional profile of Italian xylography, especially aimed at documenting the most typical local aspects through architectures and professions, including those that are declining.
Donated by the Aroldi family, 2010
