Martini, Morandi, de Pisis works from Malabotta bequest debut at Palazzo Cini

Seven masterpieces from the Franca Fenga Malabotta bequest to the Fondazione Cini are exhibited for the first time at the Galleria di Palazzo Cini in Venice. The selection includes works by Giorgio Morandi, Filippo de Pisis, and Arturo Martini, three artists central to the collecting practice of notary, poet, and critic Manlio Malabotta and his wife Franca. The pieces are displayed within the intimate, domestic setting of the palazzo's piano nobile, among the permanent collection of Tuscan paintings from the 13th to 16th centuries. The bequest, formalized in 2015, comprises artist books, graphic works, and a significant nucleus of Martini's pieces. Franca Malabotta, who became the collection's custodian after her husband's death, actively promoted its study and exhibition, donating de Pisis's corpus to Ferrara's Galleria d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea in 1996 and the Friuli-related works to Trieste's Museo Revoltella in 2015. The exhibition highlights the artists' independence from specific movements or market trends, showcasing Morandi's etchings and watercolor, de Pisis's lithographs for Catullus's Carmi, and Martini's terracotta Morte di Ofelia (1932).