Maria Signorelli's puppets and sets for Klee on display in Macerata

The exhibition 'Una favola per Klee' at Palazzo della Banca d'Italia in Macerata showcases puppets and stage designs by Maria Signorelli (Rome, 1908-1992), originally created for a 1983 performance in Rome with music by Bruni Nicolai, sets by Paolo Perpignani, and direction by Giuseppe Di Martino. The work is freely adapted from Pinin Carpi's story 'L'isola dei quadrati magici' (1973), one of eight tales introducing children to art. Donated to the Accademia di Belle Arti di Macerata by Signorelli's daughters Giuseppina and Maria Letizia Volpicelli through Enrico Pulsoni, the collection includes masks, soft sculptures, geometric structures, toys, upside-down umbrellas, found objects (e.g., a King Charles tobacco tin), and whimsical costumes. The event was curated by Enrico Pulsoni with Lucia Rosa (Associazione Amici dello Sferisterio) and scenography students Federica Angelini, Chiara Cingolani, Luca Luchetti, Teresa Marinucci, and Francesca Zù. The display aims to find a permanent home for the works, which had long been in storage. Signorelli was admired by Futurists, Fellini, Diaghilev, Eisenstein, Eleonora Duse (who called her 'my Don Quixote'), and Giorgio de Chirico (who compared her to Baudelaire). The article is by Antonello Tolve.