Biography
This autumn Waddington Custot Galleries will devote a comprehensive solo show to the Italian artist Fausto Melotti (1901-1986). Featuring almost 30 works, the exhibition spans 40 years of artistic production, from his early terracotta figures, such as Diavolo (Devil), c.1945, to his later works in brass, including Carro delle illusioni (Wagon of illusions), 1984.
Fausto Melotti is known for his ceramic works and his lyrical and intricate brass sculptures, which he often combined with pieces of fabric, paper and cardboard. His early education in Florence introduced him to the art of the Renaissance which had a profound effect on him throughout his life. He was also greatly influenced by music and his studies in engineering. Melotti was a leading member of the group of Milanese abstract artists which included his lifelong friend Lucio Fontana (1899-1968).
In response to the Second World War, and like many of his contemporaries, Melotti began working in a more figurative and humanist style. Works produced at this time - such as the small ceramic stage sets like Teatrino (Little theatre), c.1950 - display a greater sense of narrative compared to his earlier output; their fatalistic melancholy would endure in Melotti's later work. Like the city squares of Giorgio de Chirico's 'metaphysical paintings', Melotti's little theatres urge the viewer to bring narrative fragments to life and form a coherent performance.
作品
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Fausto Melotti, Diavolo / Devil, c.1945 terracotta 11 7/8 x 4 x 2 3/8 in / 30 x 10 x 6 cm
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Fausto Melotti, Diavolessa / She-Devil, c.1945 terracotta 7 1/2 x 3 5/8 x 3 5/8 in / 19 x 9 x 9 cm
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Fausto Melotti, Cavaliere / Cavalier, c.1945 painted terracotta 15 5/8 x 7 3/4 x 5 1/8 in / 39.5 x 19.5 x 13 cm
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Fausto Melotti, Senza titolo / Untitled, c.1945 terracotta 9 1/8 x 8 3/8 x 7 1/2 in / 23 x 21 x 19 cm
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Fausto Melotti, Le donne spaventate dagli uccelli / The women frightened by birds, 1946 painted clay 14 5/8 x 35 1/4 x 5 5/8 in / 37 x 89.5 x 14 cm
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Fausto Melotti, Teatrino / Little theatre, c.1950 glazed ceramic, painted terracotta 18 1/8 x 11 7/8 x 3 5/8 in / 46 x 30 x 9 cm
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Fausto Melotti, Il mare / The sea, 1974 painted terracotta, paper, brass 20 5/8 x 13 5/8 x 3 3/4 in / 52.3 x 34.5 x 8.5 cm
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Fausto Melotti, Quasi per gioco / Just for fun, 1976 brass, painted fabric, cardboard 42 1/2 x 18 7/8 x 4 in / 108 x 48 x 10 cm
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Fausto Melotti, Albatros / Albatross, 1980 brass, painted cardboard 26 3/4 x 28 3/4 x 10 5/8 in / 68 x 73 x 27 cm
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Fausto Melotti, Lungo la roggia / Along the watercourse, 1982 painted wood, fabric, brass, asbestos, painted cardboard 13 3/4 x 30 x 17 3/4 in / 35 x 76 x 45 cm
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Fausto Melotti, Il magazzino delle idee / The warehouse of ideas, 1960 brass, bronze 41 5/8 x 13 3/8 x 5 3/8 in / 105.7 x 34 x 13.7 cm
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Fausto Melotti, Pavane pour des enfants défunts / Pavane for dead children, 1960 brass, bronze 39 3/4 x 24 7/8 x 14 1/4 in / 101 x 63 x 36 cm
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Fausto Melotti, L'ambizioso / The ambitious, 1963 brass 70 7/8 x 13 x 7 1/8 in / 180 x 33 x 18 cm
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Fausto Melotti, Il pescatore e le sue esche / The fisherman and his bait, 1972 brass 48 x 13 3/4 x 10 1/2 in / 122 x 35 x 26 cm
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Fausto Melotti, La piuma / The feather, 1973 gold on plexiglass base 18 1/2 x 9 1/2 x 7 1/8 in / 47 x 24 18 cm
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Fausto Melotti, I magnifici sette. Variazione n. 3 / The magnificent seven. Variation no.3, 1973 brass 78 3/4 x 20 1/8 x 14 5/8 in / 200 x 51 x 37 cm
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Fausto Melotti, Senza perché / Without reason, 1974 brass 33 1/8 x 22 5/8 x 11 in / 84 x 57.5 x 28 cm
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Fausto Melotti, Proscenio / Proscenium, 1975 brass 28 x 13 3/4 x 15 in / 73.5 x 35 x 38 cm
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Fausto Melotti, La balia del re / The king's nanny, 1975 brass and painted cardboard 33 7/8 x 11 x 12 in / 86 x 28 x 30.5 cm
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Fausto Melotti, L'uscita delle valchirie / The exit of the valkyries, 1980 brass, painted fabric 25 3/8 x 23 1/4 x 15 in / 64.5 x 59 x 38 cm
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Fausto Melotti, I lunari / The people who live on the moon, 1981 brass 102 3/8 x 35 1/2 x 20 1/8 in / 260 x 90 x 51 cm
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Fausto Melotti, Progetto per fontana / Project for fountain, 1983 brass 19 1/4 x 22 x 6 3/4 in / 49 x 56 x 17 cm
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Fausto Melotti, Carro delle illusioni / Wagon of illusions, 1984 brass, fabric 22 1/2 x 23 5/8 x 12 1/4 in / 57 x 60 x 31 cm
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fausto Melotti, Tizzoni di bambù scoppiano in aria rallegrando la notte all'incendiario / Bamboo firebrands burst in, 1977 plaster, mixed media 19 3/4 x 27 in / 50 x 71 cm
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Fausto Melotti, Senza titolo / Untitled, 1979 plaster, mixed media, brass and fabric 15 3/4 x 22 7/8 in / 40 x 58 cm
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Fausto Melotti, Senza titolo / Untitled, 1981 plaster, mixed media 19 3/4 x 13 3/4 in / 50 x 35 cm
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Fausto Melotti, Senza titolo / Untitled, 1981 plaster, mixed media 19 3/4 x 13 3/4 in / 50 x 35 cm