Fire! Fire! (Al fuoco, al fuoco)
Baj has painted many humorously satirical pictures of what are sometimes known as 'decorated people', a favourite theme being high-ranking army officers bedecked with sashes and medals who are gesticulating some command. There are about half-a-dozen other pictures of 1963-4 with very similar figures (some with single figures, some with a row of figures). The artist points out (letter of 28 October 1974) that in this painting, as in many others of the same period, he used spare pieces of English 'Meccano' erector sets.
This picture has a label of the 1964 Venice Biennale on the back with the title 'Mani in Alto' (Hands up), but does not appear among the works by Baj listed in the Biennale catalogue. According to the donor, the reason for this was that it was added at the last moment after some other works by Baj were censured by the Italian curators of the Biennale for being irreverent towards the Italian authorities and army. The artist adds that the title was changed when the painting was modified in 1964; the two dates 1963 (which is inscribed on the stretcher) and 1964 can therefore be used together.
