Work: Urbis fragilis

Description

“Cities are the abyss of the human species”, Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

This work in bronze, entitled “Urbis fragilis”, was created in 1983 by Valeriano Trubbiani and was later donated to the Museo Omero by the organisation Soroptimist.

It is a vertical composition, only 75 centimetres high, full of details. In the upper part we find the city, with buildings from different times and styles: they’re parallelepipeds of various sizes alternated by pillars which are either spiral-shaped or decorated with flower motives. Giant pine cones are placed inbetween buildings to represent trees.
On the left of the observer, a pillar rises above everything and, on top, it shows the half-bust of a warlord with a moustache, from an unknown time. He wears a helmet; his eyes are wide-open and his mouth is smiling.
The central part is a slanted plane, almost a wide slide on which some Renaissance-inspired buildings, two pillars and a dome are spread out: on the right of the observer, part of the city is being dragged down by a landslide. From a tactile perspective, the landslide is characterised by some carved undulating lines, which cut through the whole plane diagonally until reaching the base of the sculpture. Here is a classic straw chair which appears toppled upside-down. Fallen to the ground together with his chair is Pinocchio: he’s the wooden marionette from the famous story by Carlo Collodi. He wears a cone hat, and a school uniform consisting of a puffed sleeve shirt and shorts; his arms and legs are stretched out and stiff. In the background, behind the city, there’s a big leaf with plenty of grooves which convey a sense of motion to it.
The entire sculpture is made in treated bronze: some signs on its surface are in fact caused by the process of brushing the metal, which makes it uneven to the touch.

This work is part of the “Slided cities” theme produced by the artist, who was born in Macerata and worked in Ancona. At the heart of his aesthetic and poetic reflection is the relationship between humankind, nature and culture. There are four variants of “Fragile city” reproduced with the same composition pattern, like in a child’s construction. The city is at the top of some sort of slide or structure, shielded at the back by a big plant, such as a leaf or an oaktree. Inside his compositions, the artist always places different objects: from geometrical buildings from different times to pillars and trees, from historical figures to fairytales characters who discuss between them and are a testimony of the artist’s research. The material he uses, either copper or bronze, is highly perceptible to the touch: touching these Cities evokes several and specific feelings. Through these symbolic presences, Trubbiani surely wants to stress the sense of nostalgia towards a forever-lost nature and world.