Courageous Boys at Work
About this artwork
The figures in this painting are typical of the large muscular young men portrayed by Chia. The subject of this painting is effectively autobiographical, as the figures are painters. Commenting on the work, Chia wrote (with tongue in cheek): 'I would like to say that those two courageous boys are painters at work because courageous boys are either firemen or painters'. Chia was part of the 'transavanguardia' movement. He painted large, heroic figures, influenced by the masters of the Italian Renaissance, who seem to belong to some new, twentieth-century mythology.
Updated before 2020
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artist:Sandro Chia (born 1946) Italian
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title:Courageous Boys at Work
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date created:1981
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materials:Oil and oil pastel on canvas
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measurements:168.20 x 158.00 cm; Framed: 168.20 x 158.00 x 3.80 cm
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object type:
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credit line:Purchased 1982
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accession number:GMA 2503
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gallery:
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artwork photographed by:Antonia Reeve
Sandro Chia
Sandro Chia
Chia was born in Florence, where he studied at the Academy from 1967 to 1969. He experimented with Conceptual and Performance Art in the early 1970s, before returning to painting in 1975 and adopting his characteristic style. Chia's paintings normally feature large muscular figures, who are almost...