CORRADO CAGLI
Corrado Cagli was born in Ancona in 1910 and moved to Rome with his family in 1915. He completed his classical studies before attending the Academy of Fine Arts. In 1933, as a representative of the young Roman school, he held his first solo exhibition at Galleria Il Milione in Milan, alongside Capogrossi and Cavalli. That same year, he exhibited in Paris at the Jacques Bonjeon Gallery with Capogrossi, Cavalli, and Scavi. Waldemar George, who wrote the catalog, coined the term "école de Rome." In 1935, he participated in the Quadriennale in Rome and helped inaugurate Galleria della Cometa, run by Letizia Pecci Blunt, while also taking part in an Italian art exhibition in Paris and London. From then on, his work took a more civic and existential turn, leading him to break away from official cultural norms. In 1938, he exhibited in New York with his friends from Galleria della Cometa and also participated in the Venice Biennale. Between 1936 and 1937, Cagli was influenced by Matisse’s expressive style, which he encountered during a trip to Paris in 1938. Amid rising political and racial persecution, he moved to the United States in 1940, becoming a U.S. citizen. After returning to Italy in 1948, his art evolved through various phases, including neometaphysical, neo-cubist, and informal styles (such as the 1951 exhibition "Arte astratta e concreta in Italia" at Galleria d'Arte Moderna in Rome). He later embraced a personal mythological and fantastic style that he developed from 1956 to 1957. He also ventured into stage design, working alongside the renowned choreographer George Balanchine for the Ballet Society in New York, where he was a founding member. In New York, he collaborated with composer Giancarlo Menotti, designing sets for numerous operas and major theaters. Cagli also worked in cinema, collaborating with directors John Houston and Rodney Bennet. Over the years, he developed close friendships with influential cultural figures such as Giuseppe Ungaretti, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Alfonso Gatto, Elio Vittorini, Igor Stravinsky, and Luciano Berio. Cagli’s works are part of prestigious collections worldwide, and after exhibiting in major galleries and gaining global recognition, he passed away in Rome in 1976, following a period of intense artistic exploration.
→ 01 SENZA TITOLO, 1967, ink on paper, cm 23x29,5
