Alice Neel: I am the Century

Pinacoteca Agnelli presents the first retrospective in Italy dedicated to the American artist Alice Neel (Merion Square, PA 1900 – New York, NY, 1984), one of the most significant painters of the 20th century. Alice Neel. I Am the Century is curated by Sarah Cosulich and Pietro Rigolo and offers an engaging perspective on the artist’s work, highlighting her pioneering gaze and her interest in humanity in all its forms.

Alice Neel was one of the great pioneers of the 20th century, a revolutionary painter whose approach to portraiture addressed – well ahead of her time – fundamental human, social, and political issues. Thanks to her unique painting style, characterised by a spontaneous yet precise way of conveying the nature and deep character of her sitters, Neel’s work continues to influence generations of artists. Blending realism and surrealism, with a stern gaze and emphatic brushstrokes, Neel succeeded in reading the human soul in its most hidden folds.Following a chronological timeline that spans seven decades of the 20th century, I Am the Century at Pinacoteca Agnelli delves into the idea of Alice Neel as a “chronicler of life” and her paintings as representations of the “human comedy.” Structured into six chapters that intertwine with her biography, the project highlights the artist's unique relationship with her subjects and their life stories, from birth to death, through adolescence into adulthood, the development of sexuality, the creation of relationships and social ties, as well as the formation of civic and political consciousness.