BACK TO ITALY

An imaginary journey that wants to cross Italy from North to South.

Two paintings on copper by Franz de Paula Ferg, an 18th-century Austrian painter, pay homage to the Italian popular culture that with its festivals and dances were a source of inspiration for the painters from across the Alps. These two works belonged to Rudolf von Gutmann, a wealthy Viennese industrialist who created a renowned art collection in the early 20th century. On the night of the Anschluss, or the annexation of Austria to Nazi Germany (March 13, 1938), Gutmann and his wife Marianne fled to Czechoslovakia, eventually moving to Canada. The art collection was left in Austria, where it was confiscated by the Nazi. The collection was later transferred to the abandoned Alt Aussee salt mines where they remained until the end of the war. Through the Austrian dealer Christian Nebehay, Gutmann was able to recover much of his collection after World War II.

A further homage to Italian culture is the Leda and Swan, from Picture in the Junk (2009), by Vik Muñoz, who uses trash to create artworks inspired by old masters, as in this case, by Leonardo.

Finally this is a return to Italy for Flavio Gianassi as well who, for his first fair, chooses Turin and Flashback 2020.

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