New book explores Carlo Emilio Gadda's deep engagement with visual art

A new book, 'La lente di Gadda' by critic and professor Eloisa Morra, published September 17 by Electa, examines the extensive artistic references in the works of Italian writer Carlo Emilio Gadda (1893–1973). The volume investigates how Gadda drew inspiration from visual arts—from Caravaggio and Raphael to Michelangelo, Lorenzo Lotto, Venetian painters, and Lombard artists—as well as from satirical illustrations of the Fascist era. It also explores Gadda's relationships with contemporary artists and critics, notably Roberto Longhi. The book argues that art served as an ordering principle for Gadda's complex vision, and that his visual imagination later inspired film and theater adaptations, such as Pietro Germi's 'Un maledetto imbroglio' and 'L'Ingegnere Gadda va alla guerra' by Bertolucci and Gifuni.