Emilio Mantelli Retrospective in Crema Explores a Revolutionary Graphic Artist

A comprehensive exhibition dedicated to Emilio Mantelli (Genoa, 1884 – Verona, 1918) is on view in Crema until December 11. Curated by Edoardo Fontana, the show presents over 250 works including prints, illustrated volumes, and magazines, many from private collections such as those of Carla Conforto and Agostino Pagano in Milan, as well as public collections like the Gabinetto di Disegni e Stampe di Palazzo Rosso in Genoa. Nine of Mantelli's woodcuts, some previously undocumented, are on display. The exhibition also surveys 20th-century Italian woodcut, highlighting artists who influenced Mantelli's brief but intense career. Mantelli's collaboration with the periodical L'Eroica is emphasized, where he shifted its style from Liberty and neo-Michelangelesque toward a moderate modernism. A portrait of a young woman by Giovanni Fattori, in whose nude drawing school Mantelli studied, is also included. The show aims to provide an organic cataloging of Mantelli's prints and biography, revealing his role in paving the way for Expressionism, editorial illustration, and the graphic novel.