Divisionist Art That Shocked Italy Goes on Display

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When Gaetano Previati's portrait Motherhood was unveiled at Milan's 1891 Brera triennial, its bold and "mystical" treatment of Christian iconography was met by public shock and disapproval.

The artist, whose immense work showed a Madonna-like figure emanating light with swirling angels surrounding her, was among a group of firebrand Italian painters who shook-up the artistic establishment in the late 19th century with innovative techniques focusing on light and confrontational "socialist" subject matter in which images of almshouses, rice fields and political agitation on the streets of Milan featured highly.

These men were called the Divisionists, one of the …