Corrado Cagli and Dante Baldelli
XXVIII October; Believe, Obey, Fight; In Silence and Firm Discipline; Combat; 1931 - 32
Painted ceramic tiles, 20 x 20 cm each
Ceramiche Rometti, Umbertide
Photo courtesy of Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art
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Under Mussolini: Decorative and Propaganda Arts of the Twenties and Thirties
ENGLAND
LONDON • Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art • Ongoing
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Curated by Silvia Barisone, Gianni Franzone and Matteo Fochessati of the Wolfson Collection, Genoa, this exhibition documents the two decades of Fascist rule in Italy through examples of furniture, glassware, ceramics, painting, sculpture and graphic design. Many of the leading artistic figures of the day are represented, including Gị Ponti, Duilio Cambellotti, Mario Sironi, Galileo Chini, Marcello Piacentini and Gerardo Dottori. Although most Fascist leaders had a traditional view of the arts, Italian Futurism under the leadership of Marinetti flourished under the regime and many artists contributed to the Fascist cause through their work especially in the design of propaganda posters.
Following the conquest of Ethiopia the Italian King acquired the title of Emperor in 1936, and the existence of an Italian empire satisfied the ambition of many to prove that little Italy (l'Italietta) had become a great power comparable to the Roman Empire. Among the many ancient symbols resuscitated by the Fascists, was the fasces or bundle of rods, symbolising authority. A bronze lamp in the exhibition with a marble base made in the Fonderie Fratelli Perani, Brescia, takes the form of a man holding aloft a fascio.
The works are drawn from Genoa’s Mitchell Wolfson Jr Collection, which is dedicated to art produced between 1885 and 1945, focusing upon historical and political imagery and work reflecting the evolution of the applied arts from Art Nouveau to Rationalism.
Mitchell 'Micky' Wolfson Jr. was born in 1939, the son of Colonel Mitchell Wolfson co-founder of Wometco Enterprises. Over the years he formed a collection of some 100,000 works of art and objects. In 1986 he instituted the Wolfsonian Foundation in Miami to support and conserve his collection. A catalogue accompanies this exhibtion.
Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art Web Site
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