fermamente identificato in pittura, forte e riconoscibile

[Quadruploni]

Salve,

In a recent essay about a contemporary artist (painter, printmaker, and sculptor) we read,

La ricerca di un modello, fermamente identificato in pittura, forte e riconoscibile, richiede la scoperta di una nuova tipologia per la scultura, di un diverso luogo da affrontare, una sostanza piena e concreta da riconquistare.​

There are several aspects of the language here that I find obscure, but above all I'm confused as to (1) what "fermamente identificato in pittura" means and (2) what "forte e riconoscibile" modifies.

On the first point, does it seem more likely that the writer is talking about the identification of a specific model, or the process itself of seeking a model? And is it that the model is firmly identified in the case of this artist, or for all painters?

On the second, I'm rather at sea here, but could it be that "forte e riconoscibile" are (desired) qualities of a model, be it in painting or in sculpture? That is, if we left the part about painting aside, we might understand the sentence to begin, "The search for a strong and recognizable model demands..."?

In any event, here's my first attempt at a translation of the whole sentence:

The search for a model, firmly identified in painting, strong and recognizable, demands the discovery of a new typology for sculpture, of a different place to confront, a solid, concrete substance to reconquer.​

I know there are a lot of thorny, interrelated questions here. Any help with any aspect of any of them would be much appreciated.

 

[Starless74]

There are several aspects of the language here that I find obscure, but above all I'm confused as to
(1) what "fermamente identificato in pittura" means and
(2) what "forte e riconoscibile" modifies.

(1) fermamente identificato in pittura may really mean anything in the author's head.
(2) forte e riconoscibile modifies un modello as well.

 

[Quadruploni]

Thanks, Starless74. Even with more context, this sentence is hard to understand!

 

[Flaviam88]

By fermamente identificato in pittura the author would be relating to how this sculptor is inspired by models or approaches from painting which are firmly established throughout the history of art. This could mean anything from technique eg. how paint is applied, to styles and movement eg. Cubism, to composition, to types of painting eg. landscape or still life.
Forte e riconoscibile refers to the model - that is anyone looking at the sculpture would go - Oh yeah that looks Cubist!
I hope that helps or help us out more by posting an image of this artist's work

 

[Quadruploni]

Thank you, Flaviam88. The claim being made here by the essayist does not refer to any particular work, but to how the artist transitioned from painting to sculpture. In light of your reply, how does this sound: "The search for a strong and recognizable model, already firmly identified in painting, demands...."?

 

[elfa]

The quest/search for a strong and recognisable model, which has already been firmly established in [the medium of] painting, requires the discovery of a new classification/typology for [his/her] sculpture...

Any good, Quad? Is "la scultura" referring to sculpture in general or the sculpture of this particular contemporary artist?

 

[Flaviam88]

Thank you, Flaviam88. The claim being made here by the essayist does not refer to any particular work, but to how the artist transitioned from painting to sculpture. In light of your reply, how does this sound: "The search for a strong and recognizable model, already firmly identified in painting, demands...."?

Quadruploni, In that case I would say "The search for a strong and recognizable model, already firmly established within painting, demands...." which means that the takes ideas from painting as a mode or artistic expression and translates it to sculpture as an allied form of artistic expression

 

[Quadruploni]

Thank you both, Elfa and Flaviam, for your insights. "Within painting" seems like a good, faithful shorthand for the more explicit "in [the medium of] painting."

I'm afraid that, even after rereading the original essay, I can't be sure whether pittura and scultura refer primarily or exclusively to the two arts in general or to this particular artist's work in them. Since he's working within, even as he challenges, the oldest traditions (his work is figurative but not naturalistic), it seems like both.