The first volume of a new series devoted to the extraordinary collections of the National Gallery of Modern Art in Rome allow the reader to discover how many of these great collections of works came to be part of its collection; between the lines, it describes the ambience, the atmosphere, the political and cultural climate.
The first volume of a new series devoted to the extraordinary collections of the National Gallery of Modern Art in Rome allow the reader to discover how many of these great collections of works came to be part of its collection; between the lines, it describes the ambience, the atmosphere, the political and cultural climate. The new series devoted to the extraordinary collections of the National Gallery of Modern Art in Rome allow the reader to discover how many of these great collections of works came to be part of its collection. Between the lines, it describes the ambience, the atmosphere, the political and cultural climate and the people involved: superintendents, ordinary gallery employees, gallery owners, collectors, wives, lovers, adopted children, heirs, intellectuals as well as cultural institutions. The archives and warehouses of the museum are opened up to tell us, for example, about the scandal surrounding the acquisition of a work by Burri in 1959, which led to a Parliamentary debate, or to reconstruct the context and the personal relationships which induced the gallery to make purchases of inestimable value, like the series of works by Pascali, Medardo Rosso, Capogrossi and many others. Nuclei of works which, alone, describe the entire career of an artist. A description full of snippets of information and curiosities, philologically documented and illustrated by material published here for the first time from the Gallery’s immense archives: historical photographs, signed documents, invitations, press releases, documentation about the preparations for exhibitions, testimonials and pictures of the impressive exhibitions staged at the gallery. The main part of the book is devoted to the gallery’s large collections of works by particular painters, all of which are examined here, including works on display and those kept in storage. Each one of these ‘nuclei’ is accompanied by a critical summary, a register of works and rich documentation selected from the archives. Each volume Is completed by a critical essay which looks in depth at the instruments and problems involved in accumulating the gallery’s collection over the years, such as the warehouses, restoration, conservation, the archives and much more. In addition, a writer or art critic provides a contribution of stories and anecdotes. The artists covered by the first publication, amongst others, are as follows: Afro, Burri, Capogrossi, Consagra, Fontana, Gnoli, Guerrini, Leoncillo, Manzoni and Novelli, Moranti, Sironi, Balla, Pascali and Medardo Rosso.