Seven Art Books for Christmas Gifts: From Baj to de Chirico
A roundup of seven art books published in 2018, each focusing on a different artist or theme. Enrico Baj's Automitobiografia (Johan and Levi) blends autobiography with pataphysical humor. Gertrude Stein's Picasso (Skira) is a compact essay on the painter's egotism. Ilaria Bernardi's La Tartaruga. Storia di una galleria (Postmedia Books) chronicles Plinio De Martiis's gallery in three phases. Raoul Melotto's Bernini. L'artista in Italia (Odoya) is a guide to Bernini's works across Italy. Stefano Sciacca's Sir William Shakespeare, buffone e profeta (Mimesis) offers an unconventional take on the playwright. Elisabetta Barisoni's Viaggio alle fonti dell'arte (ZeL Edizioni) accompanies exhibitions on Margherita Sarfatti at Museo del Novecento and MART. Giorgio de Chirico's Lettere 1909-1929 (Silvana Editoriale) collects 450 letters to figures like Apollinaire and Breton, revealing his financial struggles.
Key facts
- Enrico Baj's Automitobiografia originally published in 1983, reissued by Johan and Levi in 2018.
- Gertrude Stein's Picasso published by Skira in 2017 as part of SMS series.
- La Tartaruga gallery operated from 1954 to 2004 under Plinio De Martiis.
- Raoul Melotto's Bernini guide covers works in Rome, Bologna, Florence, Modena, Siena, Spoleto.
- Stefano Sciacca's book on Shakespeare references Nietzsche, van Gogh, Freud, Kurosawa.
- Margherita Sarfatti exhibitions at Museo del Novecento and MART until February 24, 2019.
- Giorgio de Chirico's letters span 1909-1929, edited by Elena Pontiggia.
- De Chirico destroyed all incoming correspondence, leaving only his outgoing letters.
Entities
Artists
- Enrico Baj
- Pablo Picasso
- Gertrude Stein
- Plinio De Martiis
- Gian Lorenzo Bernini
- William Shakespeare
- Margherita Sarfatti
- Giorgio de Chirico
- Alfred Jarry
- Marcel Duchamp
- Valerio Adami
- Gianni Pardi
- Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio
- Mario Praz
- Friedrich Nietzsche
- Vincent van Gogh
- Sigmund Freud
- Akira Kurosawa
- Guillaume Apollinaire
- André Breton
- Giovanni Papini
- Carlo Carrà
- Ardengo Soffici
- Paul Éluard
- Paul Guillaume
- Léonce Rosenberg
- Elena Pontiggia
- Elisabetta Barisoni
- Ilaria Bernardi
- Raoul Melotto
- Stefano Sciacca
- Marco Enrico Giacomelli
Institutions
- Johan and Levi
- Skira
- Postmedia Books
- Odoya
- Mimesis
- ZeL Edizioni
- Silvana Editoriale
- Studio Marconi
- Museo del Novecento
- MART
- Ca' Pesaro
- Louvre
- Artribune
- Electa
- Artribune Magazine
Locations
- Monza
- Italy
- Milano
- Bologna
- Ponzano Veneto
- Cinisello Balsamo
- via del Babuino
- Rome
- piazza del Popolo
- Roma
- Firenze
- Modena
- Siena
- Spoleto
- Parigi
- France
- Argentina
- Venezia
- Rovereto