Scholarly record

CHILDHOOD AS PSYCHOLOGICAL AND ARTISTIC EXPLORATION IN THE WORKS OF CHAGALL, DUBUFFET AND RICCARDI

Rosella Tomassoni, Dott. Valentina Coccarelli, Dott. Francesco Spilabotte

Abstract

Our study analyses the representation of childhood in the works of art by Marc Chagall, Jean Dubuffet and Gian Carlo Riccardi, highlighting how, despite their different styles and approaches, all three artists used this theme for a profound iconographic and psychological exploration. This theme is present in the expressive research of numerous artists who have captured the immediacy, nostalgia and carefreeness of the world of childhood. The methodology is based on the principles of Art and Literature Psychology, which aims to reveal the psychological meanings intrinsic in the works, making otherwise unconscious content known to viewers and thus analysing the dynamic relationship that is established between the observer and the work of art. The analysis was also inspired by multidisciplinary studies conducted by authors such as Freud, Jung, Arieti and Winnicott. Through a dreamlike and surreal language, Chagall draws on childhood memories to construct a poetic universe suspended in time, within which figures float in the air, suspended between unreal and colourful landscapes. His works are projections of an inner world, a psychological refuge where memory merges with fantasy. Childhood becomes a lens through which to view life, a place of innocence and magic that persists into adulthood, serving as a source of inspiration and an antidote to the harshness of reality. Dubuffet, on the other hand, moves away from all academic conventions to embrace the aesthetics of a “raw” and spontaneous art. His research approaches childhood as a process of liberating creativity from preconceived patterns. In fact, his research does not focus on memory, but on the psychology of the creative process in children. His works, with their naïve style and materiality, reflect a desire to return to a pure and instinctive artistic expression. Finally, Riccardi explores the theme of childhood through the use of a spontaneous and deliberately simplified technique. In his Stanze (Rooms), created with recycled materials, the artist does not merely represent the past, but recreates its atmosphere. In the graphic and pictorial works that are part of the Imagerie cycle, he evokes the emotional and familiar environment linked to memory. Childhood becomes a physical and mental place in which the viewer is invited to immerse themselves, to relive dormant sensations and memories. The use of everyday objects generates a sense of deep intimacy and nostalgia, transforming art into a bridge between the present and the past.

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