Maurizio Arena Directs..." 1991

Watercolor and marker on paper. Signed lower right, with the addition of the self-description "almost blind"; title at the top. The work is accompanied by a photo authentication from the Luciano Minguzzi Museum Foundation. A sculptor, engraver, and medallist, Minguzzi also created numerous drawings, often sketches for sculptures. The drawing is presented in a frame.

Bull

Watercolor and charcoal on paper. Signed lower right. The work is accompanied by a photo certificate from the Luciano Minguzzi Museum Foundation. A sculptor, engraver, and medallist, Minguzzi also created numerous drawings, often sketches for sculptures. The drawing is presented in a frame.

Figure with Flowers

Oil on canvas. Signed lower left. Additional signature, stamp, and declaration of authenticity on the back. Influenced by Expressionism during his Parisian years, Fantuzzi placed a strong emphasis on the expression of emotions and moods in his works. Color dominates his canvases in its boldest palettes, typically cool tones of blue, green, and purple, creating sometimes stark contrasts. Fantuzzi's main themes are the loneliness of the metropolis and the difficulty of communicating in interpersonal relationships; he often paints poorly defined figures and eyeless faces. Framed.

Figure with Flowers

Oil on canvas. Signed lower left. Additional signature, stamp, and declaration of authenticity on the back. Influenced by Expressionism during his Parisian years, Fantuzzi placed a strong emphasis on the expression of emotions and moods in his works. Color dominates his canvases in its boldest palettes, typically cool tones of blue, green, and purple, creating sometimes stark contrasts. Fantuzzi's main themes are the loneliness of the metropolis and the difficulty of communicating in interpersonal relationships; he often paints poorly defined figures and eyeless faces. Framed.

Mad Cow

Indian ink on paper. Signed at the bottom; title at the top. The work is accompanied by a photo certificate from the Galleria Pace in Milan. A sculptor, engraver, and medallist, Minguzzi also created numerous drawings, often sketches for sculptures. The drawing is presented in a frame.

Sketches for Aida

Mixed media on paper. Seven signed and dated sketches, and, at the top, a reproduction of the artist's signature. These are works by the prominent Italian painter Remo Brindisi, whose painting, based on a descriptive and realistic approach in his early works, added expressionist nuances in his later works, giving rise to his own neo-figurative language. His work is always imbued with social and political intentions. Brindisi also worked as a sculptor, illustrator, writer, set designer, and cultural curator. From a private collection in Milan. His collaboration on the grandiose sets and costumes for the 1974 production of Aida at the Verona Arena was particularly noteworthy. A series of seven signed and dated sketches from this work is presented here. Framed

Multiplo in Feltro 1974

Collage of felt fragments on panel. Signed and dated on the back, with serial number no. 28/75. Dorazio paints abstract-geometric paintings, developing various forms over the years: after an initial production of monochromatic works, he introduced color in the early 1960s, creating geometric compositions on large, free-form patterns, with layers of flat colors. From the second half of the 1960s, he worked on dynamic formal situations enclosed in horizontal grids; from the 1970s, he thickened the texture with minimal, still horizontal, lines of color and line, using various materials. Framed.

Big New Year's Eve Party 1960

Mixed media on paper. Signed and dated lower right. A humorous and ironic presentation of the menu for the 1960 New Year's Eve party, by the renowned Russian set designer, painter, and illustrator Nicola Benois, who was the chief set designer at Milan's Teatro Alla Scala from 1935. The work includes a photo of a thank-you note that accompanied the piece, addressed to the friend with whom the artist shared the party. Framed work.

The Man in the Kitchen

Mixed media on paper. Signed lower center. The renowned Russian set designer, painter, and illustrator Nicola Benois, who was the chief set designer at Milan's Teatro Alla Scala from 1935, contributed some of his drawings in 1977 to illustrate Francesco de' Rogati's book, "La cucina dell' uomo solo" (SM editore, 1977). The original drawing, which later served as the cover illustration for the text, printed in a smaller format, is shown here. Framed.

The Man in the Kitchen

Mixed media on paper. Signed lower center. The renowned Russian set designer, painter, and illustrator Nicola Benois, who was the chief set designer at Milan's Teatro alla Scala from 1935, contributed some of his drawings in 1977 to illustrate Francesco de' Rogati's book, "La cucina dell'uomo solo" (SM editore, 1977). Presented here is an original drawing, which was later used as an illustration for the text, printed in a smaller format. Framed.

Priests with Demon 1968

Marker on paper. Signed and dated lower right. A greeting card from the artist, autographed by the artist, is attached below the drawing. Known as "the painter of dreams" Gianfilippo Usellini uses his art to narrate episodes of everyday life and, above all, childhood memories. His work is characterized by simple colors and forms, yet rendered with an ironic, suspended language that, while drawing on fifteenth-century art, translates into magical, suspended, surreal, fairytale-like atmospheres. His favorite themes have always been "libraries, porticos, courtyards, nuns, priests, children, cardinals, judges, mermaids, dogs, cats, lovers"...everything and everyone, he said, because "they are the image of modern man." Framed.

Spirals 1969

Crayons on paper, drawings on both front and back. The back features a tag from the Roberto Crippa General Catalogue, with the catalog number. The work is accompanied by a photo certificate from Galleria Pace in Milan, signed by the artist and containing technical data. Roberto Crippa was an exponent of Italian Spatialism, for which he signed the Third Manifesto drafted by Lucio Fontana in 1950. His works are characterized by abstract geometric figures, which from 1955 onwards became polymaterial, created by assembling various materials, even very different from each other (iron, bronze, asbestos, cork, tissue paper), then united by color. In the early 1950s, Crippa began his series of paintings called Spirali, of a geometric and abstract nature: with a quasi-circular (but never perfectly round) geometric gesture, Crippa created convoluted spaces, from which rays were generated that ideally projected outside the two-dimensionality of the canvas. Framed work.

The Man in the Kitchen

Mixed media on paper. Signed lower center. The renowned Russian set designer, painter, and illustrator Nicola Benois, who was the chief set designer at Milan's Teatro Alla Scala from 1935, contributed some of his drawings in 1977 to illustrate Francesco de' Rogati's book,"La cucina dell' uomo solo" (SM editore, 1977). Presented here is an original drawing, which was later used as an illustration for the text, printed in a smaller format. Framed.

Sketch

Pencil on paper. Signed lower right. Emilio Scanavino, a painter and sculptor originally from Genoa, began his career as a figurative artist, then developed post-cubist characteristics into his work, with forms that gradually became more stylized until they completely dissolved in the early 1950s. Framed.

Sketch for the "Aida" 1974

Charcoal on paper. Signed and dated lower right, with the name of the sitter. Accompanied by a photo certificate from the General Catalogue and Archive of the artist's works. This work is by the prominent Italian painter Remo Brindisi, whose painting, based on a descriptive and realistic approach in his early works, added expressionist nuances in his later works, giving rise to his own neo-figurative language. His work is always imbued with social and political intentions. Brindisi also worked as a sculptor, illustrator, writer, set designer, and cultural curator. His collaboration on the grandiose sets and costumes for the 1974 production of Aida at the Verona Arena was particularly noteworthy, a sketch of which is presented here. The work is presented framed.

Sketches for "Aida" 1974

Charcoal on paper. Signed and dated lower right, with the name of the sitter (for Amneris). Accompanied by a photo-certificate from the General Catalogue and Archive of the artist's works. This work is by the prominent Italian painter Remo Brindisi, whose painting, based on a descriptive and realistic approach in his early works, added expressionist nuances in his later works, giving rise to his own neo-figurative language. His work is always imbued with social and political intentions. Brindisi also worked as a sculptor, illustrator, writer, set designer, and cultural curator. His collaboration on the grandiose sets and costumes for the 1974 production of Aida at the Verona Arena was particularly noteworthy; a sketch for Princess Amneris is presented here. The work is presented in a frame.

Sketch for the costumes of "Aida", 1974

Charcoal on paper. Signed and dated lower right, with the name of the character (the King in Act I). Accompanied by a photo-certificate from the General Catalogue and Archive of the artist's works. It is the work of the prominent Italian painter Remo Brindisi, whose painting, based on a descriptive and realistic approach in his early works, added expressionist nuances in his later works, giving rise to his own neo-figurative language. His work is always imbued with social and political intentions. Brindisi also worked as a sculptor, illustrator, writer, set designer, and cultural curator. His collaboration on the grandiose sets and costumes for the 1974 production of Aida at the Verona Arena was particularly noteworthy; a sketch for the character of the King is presented here. The work is presented in a frame.

Painted ceramics. In the 1970s, the Milanese company "Ceramica Fiori Oscuri" created a series of plates decorated with exclusive designs by ten contemporary painters. The series was limited to 250 pieces. The artists involved were: Gianfilippo Usellini, Domenico Cantatore, Domenico Purificato, Remo Brindisi, Gino Meloni, Virgilio Guidi, Pompeo Borra, Roberto Crippa, Franco Gentilini, and Gianni Dova. All plates bear the artist's signature on the front and the company logo and serial number on the back. In this group, the plates bear different serial numbers, and in particular, the plates with designs by Gianni Dova and Gianfilippo Usellini bear the words "Prova di colore" on the back, indicating that the copy was made before the final print, which was later confirmed for the plate signed by Dova, while Usellini subsequently chose another of his subjects. Borra's plate shows a small trace of restoration at the top; Crippa's plate has been reglued.

Sketch for the costumes of "Aida", 1974

Charcoal on paper. Signed and dated lower right, with the name of the sitter (for Amneris). Accompanied by a photo-certificate from the General Catalogue and Archive of the artist's works. This work is by the prominent Italian painter Remo Brindisi, whose painting, based on a descriptive and realistic approach in his early works, added expressionist nuances in his later works, giving rise to his own neo-figurative language. His work is always imbued with social and political intentions. Brindisi also worked as a sculptor, illustrator, writer, set designer, and cultural curator. His collaboration on the grandiose sets and costumes for the 1974 production of Aida at the Verona Arena was particularly noteworthy; a sketch for Princess Amneris is presented here. The work is presented in a frame.

Cat, 1969

Pencil on paper. Signed and dated at the top, with the location Rome. The drawing was part of a letter Gentilini signed to Elena Pelizzoni as a receipt for the deposit for a three-color drawing for a ceramic plate that would be part of the series later produced by the "Ceramica Fiori Oscuri" group with the collaboration of contemporary artists. A photocopy of the entire letter is attached. The drawing comes from a private collection in Milan. Framed.

Child on Horseback

Oil on canvas. Signed MAGO lower right. Maurizio Goracci, aka Mago, is a Roman painter of figurative subjects, with figures that, though well-defined, are always set against a surreal background, shaded in acidic palettes, lending a sense of the fantastic. A recurring theme is a figure on horseback, this time a child, whose face and extremities are recognizable, while the entire body, as well as the horse's silhouette, are covered in bright, floral fabrics, standing out against the undefined, dark background. The work is presented in a frame.

In Nome della Pace sulla Terra 1969

Oil on canvas. Signature, title, and date in Cyrillic on the back. Viktor Petrovich Rudametkin is a Ukrainian artist who has established himself as a landscape painter and colorist. In this work, using his characteristically vibrant palette, he depicts a peasant mother in the middle of a field of sunflowers, a symbol of life and peace, contrasting with the images of military planes streaking across the sky. Created during the years when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union, the image can be thought of as a call to peace and a message of hope for the artist's native land, still torn apart by the serious conflict with Russia.

Mother with Child

Oil on canvas. Signed lower right. On the back there is a cartouche of authentication from "Meeting Art Roma"; with the data of the work, and stamp of provenance from the "Centro Artistico Mercurio, Milan". Giuseppe Migneco, originally from Messina but who moved to Milan when he was young, was one of the major representatives, together with Aligi Sassu, Renato Birolli, Bruno Cassinari, Renato Guttuso, of the Corrente group open to the European artistic avant-gardes. In favor of a painting of social commitment, he investigates reality with a critical, objective, historical eye. His characters with hard, square faces, marked by hard work and rendered with bright and strong tones, recall his Sicily with violent and clear features, but also the social realism of the Mexican muralists. In this work appear his characteristic figures (which could belong to both Sicily and Mexico!) engaged in a very prosaic and realistic activity of popular daily life, that is, a mother who combs and cleans her son's head, probably infested with parasites. The work is presented in a frame.