A Woman's Work

Beatrix Potter

Dear followers, I apologize once again for the recent lack of posts,

but this semester I taught one more course that usual, and soon realized

that I had to give up some of my leisurely activities, including blogging, 

to be able to stay on track keep focused. My lessons ended yesterday, 

and I am really looking forward to almost a full month of vacation.

Of course, now there's plenty to do around the house...

Fritz Baumgarten, Das Hochzeitsfest im Wiesengrund

Hilda Boswell

B. Twardowski (?), 1925

Boris Kalaushin, 1958

Evgenii Rachev

Anatoli Michailovich Eliseev, Story of the stupid mouse

Feodor Rojankovsky, Frog Went a-Courtin', 1955

Barbara Cooney, The Crows of Pearblossom, 1967

Bernard Waber, An Anteater Named Arthur, 1967

Yusuke Yonezu

Svjetlan Junakovic

Marjolein Bastin

Peter Gut

Agata Dudek, The Crows of Pearblossom

Alberto Montt

Animali in Viaggio

Pia Valentinis

After missing it when it first opened last March at Zoo in Bologna, 

this Saturday I was finally able to see the Animali in Viaggio exhibition 

when it arrived for a short stay at the Babele bookstore in Firenze. 

Antonio Marinoni

I was interested in this show for a good number of reasons: it's inspired by Franco Matticchio's latest book

 Libretto Postale, it's organized by two ladies I really like, the illustrator and blogger Anna Castagnoli

 and Stefania Camilli, publisher of Vànvere Edizioni, it's an innovative idea and it features

 lots of lovely animal pictures by many of my favorite Italian illustrators. 

Last but not least, I love mail art...

Daniela Tieni

Francesco Chiacchio

Anna and Stefania came up with the idea of a mail art game while discussing the aptness

of detaching the postcards included in Franco's beautiful book (Anna gave a very good account

 of the creative process behind the project on her blog Le figure dei libri). The final concept involved

 sending one of seven postcards from the book (dog, elephant, cat, penguins, chick, squirrel, crocodile)

to seven different illustrators, who would create a postcard continuing their animal's story

 and then send it to another illustrator, who would in turn do the same, 

resulting in a series of 62 postcards by Italian and Japanese artists.

Claudia Palmarucci

Mauro Evangelista

Beppe Giacobbe

Marina Marcolin

Simone Rea

Maurizio Quarello

Alessandra Vitelli

Sergio Ruzzier

Tiziana Romanin

Satoko Watanabe

Nanoa Katayama

Maya Miyama

I really enjoyed the show and am glad I finally caught up with it, if you want to see it too

its next stops will be in Udine, Tokyo and Barcelona...

Mamma Mia!

Victor Pivovarov, 1971

Lena Guberman

Anthony Browne

Helen Borton, Do you go where I go?, 1972

Brian Wildsmith, Wild Animals

Helene Carter, Sharp Ears, 1938

Rare Animals, via HannaRivka

Józef Wilkon

Knud Kyhn

Andy Warhol

Gerry Turley

Óscar Villán

The Conquest of the Earth

Duilio Cambellotti, one of the most significant and eclectic Italian artists 

of the early 20th century, was born in Rome in 1876 and began developing 

his craft skills at the workshop of his father Antonio, a wood carver and decorator.

 After studying at the Museum of Industrial Art in Rome he began working as 

a graphic artist, and in 1897 received a diploma to teach Applied Arts. 

Cambelotti started to work as an independent designer creating objects, lamps and jewels 

in the Art Nouveau style for Italian and International companies, as well as advertising posters. 

Inspired by the ideals of the Arts and Crafts movement, he devoted himself with enthusiasm

 to all the applied arts, constantly researching and mastering new media and techniques. 

He was also one of the most prolific and innovative illustrators of his time,

and his works were regularly featured in various important literary magazines.

Around 1913 he began illustrating fairy tales and children's books 

for several important Italian publishers. 

From 1905 until the late 1940s Cambellotti designed sets and costumes for theaters

 including the Opera of Rome and the amphitheaters at Ostia, Taormina, and Syracuse.

His wide range of creative activities also included painting, printmaking, murals, 

sculpture, stained glass, architecture, interior decoration, and ceramics. 

Bull tile, 1910-12

Cambellotti felt a strong bond with the rural world, a recurring subject in his art. 

In these rural roots he found a sense of timeless authenticity lacking in contemporary society. 

However, he was conscious of the backward living condition that characterized that world, 

and together with his friend Alessandro Marcucci and the writers Giovanni Cena and Sibilla Aleramo 

he was actively involved in fighting the miserable situation of farmers in the Roman and Pontine Marshes. 

Among the works reflecting these themes, I have only recently discovered these woodcuts

 designed by Cambellotti for the covers of The conquest of the earth, a magazine  published

 by the Fascist organization Opera Nazionale Combattenti between 1935 and 1939. 

Throughout this vast body of work, the animal world remains one of Cambellotti's 

main sources of inspiration. And naturally, I'll share more of his art in the near future...