Sacco (Sack)

1955

Italian, (active in America), 1915-1995

Burri, once a doctor in the Italian army, made his first paintings in 1943 when he was a prisoner of war in a Texas camp. Discarded burlap sacks were the most plentiful fabric on which to work, a humble material which became a hallmark of his practice. The torn and sutured fabric, combined with charring and homely materials like cardboard, also evoke the destruction he returned to in postwar Italy.

Burlap, cardboard, muslin, and paint

35 1/2 x 28 1/4 in. (90.17 x 71.76 cm)

Gift of Hester Diamond in memory of Alberto Burri

95.134

Provenance: Collection of the artist; collection of Hester Diamond, New York, New York, to 1995; gift from Mrs. Diamond to Seattle Art Museum, December 19, 1995

Photo: Susan A. Cole

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Collection Highlights: 1945 to the Present (99.94-lb.), Sept.12, 1996 - June 1, 1997.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, International Abstraction: Making Painting Real, May 2, 2003 - Feb. 29, 2004.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Target Practice: Painting Under Attack 1949-78, June 25 - Sept. 7, 2009. Text by Michael Darling. No cat. no., pp. 95, 146, reproduced.

Published ReferencesBrandi, Cesare; "BURRI", Editalia, 1963, pl. 29

Darling, Michael ed., "Target Practice: Painting Under Attack 1949-78," Seattle Art Museum, 2009, p. 94, illus. p. 95

Seattle Art Museum respectfully acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. We honor our ongoing connection to these communities past, present, and future.

Learn more about Equity at SAM