Lazy Dog Publishes 'Pittori di Cinema' on Italian Film Poster Artists

Milan-based niche publisher Lazy Dog has released 'Pittori di Cinema', a 432-page volume examining 29 Italian artists who created painted film posters from the mid-20th century. The book, edited by Maurizio Baroni and priced at €89, features works by Manfredo Acerbo, Silvano Campeggi, Francesco Fiorenzi, Otello Mauro Innocenti, Giuliano Nistri, and Sandro Symeoni, among others. It includes a preface by calligrapher Luca Barcellona. The publication highlights the craft of these 'painters of cinema' who visualized narratives in static images, often working on commission. Examples include Tino Avelli's posters for Paul Morrissey's 'Flesh' (1968) and Michael Cimino's 'Una calibro 20 per lo specialista' (1974). The book also covers Anselmo Ballester's gloomy style, Ercole Brini's shift to graphic lines in the mid-1960s, and Carlantonio Longi's complex compositions. Published in 2018, the book was reviewed by Marco Enrico Giacomelli in Grandi Mostre #11.