Marsilio Editori, Venice Archives - Fondazione Giorgio Cini

«Illustre Signora Duse». Cento voci dall’archivio dell’attrice

One hundred years after the death of Eleonora Duse (Vigevano, 1858 – Pittsburgh 1924), this volume offers a previously unpublished selection of the many letters preserved in the actress’s archive held at the Giorgio Cini Foundation’s Institute for Theatre and Opera. It includes one hundred of the many voices that had artistic and friendly relations with her, including actresses and actors, intellectuals and men of letters.
From the letters to Duse emerge memories of encounters, exchanges of opinions, shared projects and creative visions. A plurality of voices, often far removed from each other, surprisingly agree in recognising the exceptional nature of the figure of Eleonora Duse, of her vision, of her theatre.

A revolutionary and passionate artist, Eleonora was the most famous Italian actress of our recent past. A successful actress and leading lady, she left an indelible mark on the Italian and European culture of her time. Many pages were written about her, and some of the most significant testimonies are collected in this book: the poet Ada Negri describes her as ‘the most sublime female figure of our time’, Piero Gobetti speaks of her as ‘a religious spirit’ and the Florentine writer Fernando Agnoletti compares those who did not have the good fortune to hear her at the theatre ‘to those who have not read the Odyssey in poetry’.

La Fondazione Giorgio Cini. Settant’anni di storia

La Fondazione Giorgio Cini. Settant’anni di storia, edited by Pasquale Gagliardi and Egidio Ivetic and published by Marsilio, is the third volume marking the historical stages of the Fondazione Giorgio Cini, after Venezia 1951 – 1971. Vent’anni di attività della Fondazione Giorgio Cini (Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Venice 1972) and La Fondazione Giorgio Cini. Cinquant’anni di storia, edited by U. Agnati (Electa, Milan 2001). This book thus follows on from the previous two by highlighting what has been achieved in the 21st century, which saw a new phase in the life of the Foundation. The recent history of the Foundation is reviewed, including a commemoration of the most important cultural figure in its development, Vittore Branca, who died in 2004.

The contributions to the book are divided into two sections: “A New Landscape” and “Reports and Personal Accounts”. In the first section, several authors describe the architectural restorations and art works of the past twenty years, enabling the Foundation to update into a material and cultural landscape capable of meeting the demands of our age. In the second, the authors reflect on the experiences of cultural life, research and study, the activities of the institutes and research centres, and the wealth of archives, collections and artistic heritage. Seen overall, the book pays tribute to the Foundation on San Giorgio Maggiore by bearing witness to an extraordinary place.

Virgilio Guidi. I disegni della Fondazione Giorgio Cini

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.

Bruno Visentini. Governo, Cultura, Venezia. Scritti scelti 1969-1994

Promoted by the Fondazione Giorgio Cini to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the death of Bruno Visentini, president of the Foundation for eighteen years from 1977 to 1975, this book is an anthology of his writings published in various places from 1969 to 1994. It is thus a companion volume to the earlier Per Bruno Visentini (edited by Costantina Toria and Renzo Zorzi, Marsilio 2001), also promoted by the Foundation to bring together the papers presented at the conference of the same title held in April 1998 on San Giorgio, three years after Visentini’s Death. Unlike the earlier book, which oered an overall portrait of his personality and a description of his work thanks to the contributions of the various illustrious conference speakers, this volume is a kind of self-portrait highlighting Visentini’s knowledge, and his cultural and political outlook. Most importantly, however, it tells of his passions. The editors have careful selected his writings and divided them into five thematic sections reflecting the three main currents of Bruno Visentini’s great “passions”: politics, culture and Venice.

La Galleria di Palazzo Cini a Venezia. Pittura, scultura e arti decorative

The recent reopening to the public of the Palazzo Cini Gallery and its precious collection of historic paintings, sculptures and rened objects of decorative art from the Vittorio Cini Collection highlighted the need to provide the museum with a complete updated catalogue – an indispensable guide for scholars and visitors. e twofold purpose of the catalogue is reected in its structure and graphic style: on one hand, it is a rigorous methodical tool of knowledge, whose editors Andrea Bacchi and Andrea De Marchi, were assisted by a large group of scholars in drafting the entries; and, on the other, it is a lavishly illustrated useful companion book available for the general public.
Many new elements emerged during the research conducted for the publication, promoted and coordinated by the Institute of Art History. These novelties broaden the scope of the excellent existing catalogues for the collection: the work edited by Federico Zeri, Mauro Natale and Alessandra Mottola Molfino in 1984, devoted to the Tuscan paintings and art objects donated by Yana Cini Alliata di Montereale and published for the opening of the museum; and the catalogue edited by Andrea Bacchi in 1990, which included the newly arrived collection of Ferrarese Renaissance paintings in the Gallery thanks to a permanent loan by Ylda Cini Guglielmi di Vulci. In addition to the usual historical and bibliographical updates, which take into account new research into previously catalogued items, the volume has a broader critical reach since it includes works not in the previous catalogues, having arrived in the Gallery later. Among the new additions is an important group donated by Yana Cini in 1985 with masterpieces such as Fra Angelico’s San Marco Altarpiece from Florence, and a masterful painting by Michele Pannonio. Moreover, a second group of works was left on permanent loan in 2015 by the heirs of Ylda Cini. It includes some notable acquisitions, such as Saint Matthew by Sassetta, a Portrait of a Gentleman by Francesco Prata and a splendid carved late 16th-century wardrobe, attributed to the circle of Sansovino.

Published by Marsilio with the crucial support of the Veneto Region, the catalogue continues the series of books dedicated to the Fondazione Giorgio Cini art collections. The series is the result of a drive to catalogue and research the art works, which in recent times has intensi- ed considerably. e principal aim of the series, in line with Institute of Art History’s cultural and methodological strategy and the Foundation’s statutory values, is to continually promote and make better use of its art historical Heritage.