Lot 3
  • 3

Alberto Magnelli

Estimate
120,000 - 150,000 GBP
bidding is closed

Description

  • Alberto Magnelli
  • TEATRO STENTERELLO NO. III
  • signed Magnelli, titled and dated Firenze 1914 on the reverse
  • oil on canvas
  • 100 by 75cm.
  • 39 3/8 by 29 1/2 in.

Provenance

Estate of the artist
Il Collezionista d'Arte Contemporanea, Rome
Galerie Karl Flinker, Paris
Acquired from the above by the present owner in 1982

Exhibited

Geneva, Galerie Krugier, Alberto Magnelli, 1971, no. 11, illustrated in the catalogue

Literature

Anne Maisonnier, Alberto Magnelli, l'¿uvre peint, catalogue raisonné, Paris, 1975, no. 57, illustrated in the catalogue p. 59

Catalogue Note

In 1914 Magnelli painted six oils on the subject of Teatro Stenterello, and the present work is one of the most accomplished and boldest of this group. The subject is based on the Florentine theatre of the same name, which Magnelli frequented with his friends from the Futurist circle. The theatre itself was named after a popular character Stenterello, a Florentine version of the harlequin figure from the commedia dell'arte. With its pronounced outlines and geometric shapes, the present work is reminiscent of the collage technique, while at the same time anticipating Matisse's cut-outs. The simplification of colour and form in Teatro Stenterello no. III and other paintings from this series reflects the artist's gradual shift towards abstraction that the artist embraced towards the end of 1914 and beginning of 1915.

 

Moving between his native Florence and Paris, Magnelli was inspired by the Italian artists of the Quattrocento, particularly Piero della Francesca and Paolo Ucello, while at the same time absorbing the influence of the avant-garde art he saw in Paris, where he befriended, among others, Pablo Picasso and Guillaume Apollinaire. The preference for geometric shapes and simplified forms is derived from the Cubist artists' approach to pictorial composition, while the strong black outlines and large areas of unmodulated colour point to Matisse's art. Teatro Stenterello no. III is a wonderful example of the way in which Magnelli was able to combine these disparate sources into a harmonious composition.