Virgilio Guidi. I disegni della Fondazione Giorgio Cini

By Art History

This book presents the catalogue of hundreds of drawings by Virgilio Guidi (Rome, 1891 – Venice, 1984) donated to the Fondazione Giorgio Cini Institute of Art History by art critic Enzo Di Martino. Mostly  unpublished, this collection of drawings is significant evidence of the long, multifaceted artistic career of a great 20th-century Italian master. From some early works dating back to the 1910s to his last period of activity, the collection illustrates the main themes of his work – from Encounters to Figures in Space, Seascapes and Large Trees – revealing the most intimate and “secret” aspect of his art. In line with the Institute of Art History’s consolidated tradition of studying graphic arts, this volume constitutes a first critical reconstruction of Guidi’s drawings, still little known and studied today. Here the subject is  addressed in essays by Enzo Di Martino, Luca Massimo Barbero and Chiara Mari. Starting from an analysis of the individual sheets, reproduced in chronological and thematic order, the book describes a broad context and opens up investigative pathways for further insights by interpreting the drawings in parallel with Guidi’s production of paintings as well as exploring his critical fortune and the reception of his exhibitions.