S.i headlines “Lucio Fontana. Self portrait. Works 1931-1967“ the exhibition set up at lto Magnani-Rocca Foundation in Mamiano di Traversetolo (Parma)that until 3 July allows you to get closer to an artist who has left a peculiar imprint in the art of the twentieth century.
Born in Argentina in 1899 of Italian parents, Lucio Fontana it is also known to those who are not passionate about twentieth century art for its famous ones cuts to the canvases. A provocation? No, a gesture with a precise meaning. The exhibition of the Magnani-Rocca Foundation offers the opportunity to understand the artist’s thought.
The figurative years
The Fiocinatore (1933-1934)
The key to the exhibition is a long interview between the art historian Carla Lonzi (1931-1982) and Lucio Fontana. We are in 1967, the artist talks about himself in his studio in Corso Monforte in Milan. He is already 68 years old and this interview – which can be heard in the original file at the Magnani-Rocca Foundation – is a kind of testament, in which Fontana retraces the salient stages of his art and research. In fact, he died the following year, in 1968. Various works are exhibited from the years in which the artist still has a figurative approach, including The Fiocinatore (or Fisherman) made in 1933-34.
The revolution of holes
Spatial concept. The sun (1962)
Then, little by little, Lucio Fontana begins to experiment with new paths. In 1946, he laid the foundations of the Spatialism: art as it had been until then is outdated, modernity and technology impose new dimensions. Space, time, movement, sound, light come into play. The revolution of him I am the holes in the canvas, which he made for the first time in 1949, when he was almost fifty years old. As proof of his extraordinary creative energy, capable of breaking with the past and radically innovating. Why the holes? By tearing the canvas, painting is almost no longer necessary: the artist opens a window to infinity. The conquest of space starting from the 1950s influences the imagination of the time and also of the artist. Infinite space is a void, in which man is tiny, but his aspiration to go further is embodied in the act of drilling and cutting. Beyond the Earth, beyond tradition and conventions. Beyond God, who is invisible and inconceivable.
Watch out for young talents
Spatial concept. Waits (1961)
In the last room, find space the private collection of Lucio Fontana. The artist, in the most mature phase of his life, has always been attentive to the production of young emerging talents. From Alberto Burri to Enrico Bajfrom Piero Manzoni to Luciano Fabro, the works exhibited denote Fontana’s curiosity for novelties. The exhibition is also enriched by the photographs of Ugo Mulaswhich portrayed the artist at work starting in 1954.
A precious collection
The famous painting The family of the infant Don Luis (1783-84) by Francisco Goya
The visit to the exhibition dedicated to Lucio Fontana is an opportunity to discover the Villa of the Masterpieceswhich also houses a permanent collection of great importance, which alone is worth the trip. It ranges from the fourteenth century with Gentile da Fabriano and Giovanni del Biondo as far as De Chirico and De Pisis, passing through Dürer, Tiziano, Rubens, Van Dyck, Goya, Monet, Cézanne and Renoir. This collection is the fruit of the passion of Luigi Magnani (1906-1984), musicologist, music critic and writer with a passion for art. From a wealthy family – his father Giuseppe was a dairy entrepreneur, his mother Eugenia a Ligurian noblewoman – in 1977 Luigi honored the memory of his parents by establishing the Foundation, housed in the villa where the Magnani family resided starting from 1941. The collection has various works of Giorgio Morandi, purchased by Luigi or donated by the artist, who was a personal friend of the collector. Among the most famous paintings of Villa dei Capolavori, it stands out The family of the Infante Don Luis (1783-84) by Francisco Goya. The artist portrays the fourteen members of the family nucleus of Don Luis di Borbone, brother of the king, who had married since giving up becoming a cardinal. On the left, the Spanish painter also adds himself to the work.
Stroll in the park
A white peacock in the park of Villa dei Capolavori
After visiting the Lucio Fontana exhibition and permanent collection, don’t forget to set aside some time for a walk in the romantic park of the Villa12 hectares large, which also includes an Italian garden with box hedges. The trees, which probably date back to the nineteenth century, when the park was created, are a marvel. There are monumental cedars and plane trees, which impress with their majesty. Among the plants, you will see numerous walking freely peacocks – the classic royal blue-bodied peacocks and all-white peacocks – which add to the charm of this green oasis in the middle of the countryside.
The entrance ticket (12 euros) is valid for the Lucio Fontana exhibition and also for the permanent collection and the park. Info: www.magnanirocca.it
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