Alessandro Pessoli
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In the 10-part installation Baracca (2004), the Italian artist Alessandro Pessoli depicts World War I Italian war hero and aircraft pilot Francesco Baracca (1888-1918). The individual scenes in gouache depict various fantastic moments in subdued shades of pink and pastel blue, with soldiers crouched in firing position, seated in airplane vehicles, or walking through a deserted landscape. Pessoli was drawn to both the tragedy and romanticism of Baracca’s story, using the war hero as a way of joining fact and fiction in expressionistic, dreamlike images. Baracca holds an important place in Italian history with a legacy of 34 claims to victory, while his former home in Lugo has been converted to the Museo Francesco Baracca. Filled with mementos, uniforms and medals from Baracca’s life, visitors like Pessoli are left to assemble a portrait of the pilot from the objects and symbols he left behind. Especially in militaristic societies, this is a common way to represent war heroes, yielding powerful images which inspire subsequent generations.