Adolfo De Carolis (1874-1928) - Il Varo, 1908

Two-block woodcut, dimensions: 221 x 353 mm; 490 x 320 mm. Italian painter, engraver, and illustrator. He initially trained in Bologna at the Academy of Fine Arts, and after obtaining his diploma, in 1892 he moved to Rome. Here he met the poet Nino Costa, founder of the cenacolo In arte libertas, which proposed renewing art through the rediscovery of the greats of the fifteenth century, following the example of the Pre-Raphaelites. De Carolis thus began to frequent this group and became a member, starting to create paintings with a Pre-Raphaelite imprint. In 1900 he met the poet Giovanni Pascoli, for whom he designed and made a silver pommel and the plaque for the cane, a gift from the friends of the Florentine magazine Marzocco; he then began to work on the graphic decoration of some of the poet’s publications. This collaboration proves important in his artistic production between 1892 and 1928, because the works of this period deal with pastoral and seascapes that reflect Pascoli’s tone. In 1901 De Carolis left Rome for Florence, where he taught ornament at the Academy of Fine Arts, dedicating himself to wood engraving. This technique would become very dear to him, and he would be the first in Italy to revive the ancient technique of polychrome woodcut in multiple blocks. Numerous are the single sheets or illustrations for various magazines and for the works of his friend D’Annunzio. This print is taken from the series dedicated to life at sea, composed of six sheets. A subject very dear to the artist for which he created not only several sketches but also many photographs. In this sheet, depicted with green and yellow inks on a white background, is a boat and several men. In the foreground, on the left, two full-length men who, with great force, their muscles taut, aided by two other bent portraits, pull at ropes. In the background, a large vessel is about to set sail, being brought to sea by men in various positions—some pushing, some pulling on ropes—so that Ausonia, the ship’s name engraved on the hull, may cut through the waters of the Adriatic. Ausonia is the name Latin poets, after the Roman conquest (4th c. BCE), attributed to all of Italy, and in an article published in Rivista marchigiana illustrata, De Carolis compares the strength and audacity of the fishermen of San Benedetto to Homeric sailors. In the background, the horizon-wide sea and the coast. Excellent impression on smooth ivory paper. Excellent condition. Wide margins beyond the plate mark. Accurate packing and shipping guaranteed.