A New Figurative Art

Presenting a large number of iconic works, this exhibition explores a crucial phase of Italian art history that remains little-known outside its native country.

[dropcap style=”font-size:100px;color:#992211;”]S[/dropcap]ince the early 1990s, Milanese lawyer Giuseppe Iannaccone has been amassing one of the most outstanding private collections of Italian art from the inter-war years. For the first time, 50 key works from the collection will be coming to the UK and will be shown at London’s Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art. A New Figurative Art 1920-1945: Works from the Giuseppe Iannaccone Collection will run from 26 September to 23 December 2018.

Renato Birolli The Poets ( I poeti ), 1935 Oil on canvas, 90 x 108 cm

Presenting a large number of iconic works, this exhibition explores a crucial phase of Italian art history that remains little-known outside its native country. It testifies not only to one man’s enduring passion for a period that continues to fascinate him, but also to the determination of a number of important painters to reassert their values of humanity and poetry in the face of militarism, nationalism and totalitarianism.

Roberto Melli Reading ( La lettura ), 1942 Oil on canvas, 90 x 80 cm

Having become fascinated with figurative painting of the 1930s, Iannaccone set about building a collection that has brought together works by some of the most significant artists belonging to such influential schools and tendencies as the Scuola di Via Cavour (Mario Mafai, Antonietta Raphaël and Scipione), the Sei di Torino (Gigi Chessa, Nicola Galante, Carlo Levi and Francesco Menzio) and Corrente (Arnaldo Badodi, Renato Birolli, Bruno Cassinari, Giuseppe Migneco, Ennio Morlotti, Aligi Sassu, Ernesto Treccani, Italo Valenti and Emilio Vedova). A number of other painters are also represented in the collection, which includes major pieces by Filippo de Pisis, Fausto Pirandello and Ottone Rosai, and a rare figurative sculpture by Lucio Fontana. Including works by all of these artists (as well as a range of other figures such as Renato Guttuso and Alberto Ziveri), the exhibition will provide an authoritative overview of a key moment in the evolution of modern Italian art.

Opening Hours
Wednesdays – Saturdays 11.00-18.00, Sundays 12.00-17.00
Closed Mondays & Tuesdays
Admission: £6.50, Concs £4.50.
Includes entry to exhibition and permanent collection.
Transport: Tube/Rail: Highbury & Islington (Victoria Line / London Overground / Great Northern); Essex Road (Great Northern)