Genoa Celebrates Giannetto Fieschi, Forgotten Transavanguardia Precursor, with Centenary Exhibitions

A series of exhibitions in Genoa marks the centenary of Giannetto Fieschi (1921–2010), an eccentric Italian painter who has been largely forgotten by art history. Curated by Andrea B. Del Guercio, the shows aim to restore his legacy as a precursor to the Transavanguardia movement, anticipating its themes by three decades. Fieschi's work combines archetypal imagery—minotaurs, cynocephali, Christological figures—with a unique "neological" style that twists tradition. The first exhibition, "Giannetto Fieschi. Dentro il Sacro," at the Museo Diocesano in the cloister of San Lorenzo, features about twenty large paintings, sculptures, and graphics on religious themes, including the early "Via Crucis" cycle (1952–53) and "Gli Evangelisti" (1949), which anticipated Rauschenberg and New Dada by incorporating real objects. A second show, "L'esperienza della pittura," at Palazzo Ducale, includes four major works such as "Corpus Spirituale" (1951) and "La strage degli innocui" (1954). Further exhibitions will follow at Museo di Villa Croce, GAM di Nervi, and in San Gimignano. Fieschi's 1964 Venice Biennale piece, "Dall'alto del patibolo Antonio Lorenzo Lavoisier dimostra e proclama l'indistruttibilità della materia," sparked controversy. He rejected group affiliations but was loosely associated with Nuova Figurazione. His extensive writings emphasize painting as a speculative, ethical act—a "messianic painting" aimed at regenerating the contemporary individual.