Alberto Magnelli

Alberto Magnelli is known as one of the first Italian abstract painters.

Biography of Alberto Magnelli

Alberto Magnelli, born in Florence in 1888 to a family of wealthy merchants, developed an early interest in Renaissance artists such as Andrea del Castagno, Paolo Uccello, and Piero della Francesca. He taught himself to paint by 1907 when he was in his early teens. By 1910, he participated in his first Venice Biennale, showcasing works in the Fauvist style.

In 1911, the leader of Futurism, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, approached him, inviting him to join their avant-garde movement. Magnelli declined, as he did not readily identify with their ideals. Instead, he remained an outsider who turned toward abstraction while retaining Futurist elements in his work, allowing him to exhibit with the group.

The artist shifted towards geometric abstraction after meeting Cubists Picasso, Gris, and Léger in Paris in 1913. His first abstract works emerged during the winter of 1914-15, characterized by the artist's unique elliptical forms and large blocks of vibrant color. Despite the heavily outlined shapes, his work always remained more romantic than analytical, according to Daniel Abadie. 

In 1916, Magnelli began his military training, and upon his release, he turned to figuration, akin to many avant-garde artists of the day, including Picasso and André Derain. By 1918, he experimented with geometric figuration, notably in his formidable "Explosion Lyrique" series, celebrating the end of World War I with rich Fauvist color, the armature of Cubism, and the dynamism of Futurism.

After World War II, Magnelli extensively traveled before settling in Paris in 1932, seeking refuge from the rise of fascism in Italy and rediscovering his interest in abstraction. Inspired by a journey through the Carrera marble region of Italy, he created the "Stone" series.

In Paris, Magnelli rekindled his friendship with Picasso, joined the Abstraction-Création group, and met influential figures like Wassily Kandinsky and Jean Arp. With the Nazi invasion of France, Magnelli, along with artists like Arp and Robert Delauney, relocated to Grasse. During this period, he produced strict yet colorful abstractions, including collages and assemblages, due to the challenges of finding canvas and paint because of the war.

In 1937, De Chirico, having brought some of Magnelli's gouaches to New York, established contact with the Nierendorf Gallery, which organized Magnelli's inaugural solo exhibition in the United States in 1938.

Returning to Paris in 1944, post-war, Magnelli crafted refined geometric works—playful abstractions with balanced shapes and mixtures of color and form, evolving into a more elegant and sophisticated style that persisted until his death.

The 1947 Magnelli retrospective at the Drouin Gallery established him as a major figure in the post-war art movement, particularly concrete art, influencing young French and Italian abstract artists like Victor Vasarely and Nicolas de Stael. He returned to the Venice Biennale in 1950 with an entire room dedicated to his work.

In 1963, commemorating Magnelli's seventy-fifth birthday, a significant retrospective of his works was presented in Switzerland by the Kunsthaus Zürich, later displayed at the Palazzo Strozzi in Florence. In 1970, the Cantini Museum in Marseille hosted a traveling exhibition of Magnelli's work organized by the French National Center of Contemporary Art. This exhibition is then showcased in five other French museums.

Before and after his death in 1971 at his Paris home, Magnelli's work has been showcased in retrospectives and solo exhibitions at major institutions and museums globally, including the Palais des beaux-arts in Brussels, Kunsthaus Zürich, Musée d'art moderne de la Ville de Paris, and the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.