Mino Maccari (1899-1989) - Incontro sotto i Portici - Nobildonna (opera doppia)

Mino Maccari - Meeting under the Portico (Double Work) - Mixed media on prepared paper - 1950s

DETAILS OF THE WORK
Artist: Mino Maccari (Italy)
Title of the work: "Incontro sotto il portico" (Front) | "Nobildonna" (Back)
Era: 1960s
Technique and materials: Double work. Front: mixed media (oil, pastels, watercolor and charcoal) on prepared paper. Back: charcoal on canvas.
Dimensions: 46 x 26 cm.
Stamps: On the back, on the frame, stamp of the old Pier Della Francesca Art Gallery of G.B. Vaiani Lisi.
Signature: Bottom right (slightly faded but clearly legible).
Conditions: Excellent. No structural defects (the photographs are an integral part of the description).

provenance

Provenance: Acquired from the artist Mino Maccari’s studio by Giovanbattista Vaiani Lisi (founder of the Piero Della Francesca Art Gallery and longtime principal gallerist for Maccari from the 1960s until the Maestro’s death). The work has never left the collection of G.B. Vaiani Lisi and thus remains with our Gallery, which is offering it for sale.

DOCUMENTATION
Certificate of authenticity issued by Galleria d'Arte Piero Della Francesca. The document explicitly notes that in 2022 the work was viewed by the Maccari Archive (then chaired by Marco Maccari), which gave a positive opinion for archiving. Photocopy of the publication.

EXHIBITIONS
"Maccari", Retrospective, Galleria d'Arte Piero Della Francesca, 2002.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Catalogue of the Exhibition "Maccari", Galleria d'Arte Piero Della Francesca, edited by Giovanbattista Vaiani Lisi, 2002. Please note that the original catalogue is NOT included in the sale. Only the photocopy will be attached.

DESCRIPTION OF THE WORK
We propose in this auction a piece of notable historical and collecting value: a rare "double work" realized in the 1960s by Mino Maccari, a master of twentieth-century Italian art and one of the most caustic, brilliant, and original voices in postwar figurative art.
The front of the work, titled "Incontro sotto i Portici" (Meeting under the Porticoes), is a concentrated expression of the artist’s vibrant poetic vision. Executed with a rich mixed technique layering oil, pastels, watercolor, and charcoal, the scene captures a moment of urban life with the characteristic narrative immediacy and biting irony that distinguishes Maccari’s stroke. The mark is swift, the colors vivid and dissonant, outlining the figures with a formidable expressionist synthesis. Making this lot even more unique is the presence, on the back of the canvas, of a second work: an intense charcoal portrait of a "Nobildonna", testifying to the maestro’s creative fervor and expressive urgency.
This is a museum-quality piece, enriched by provenance of the highest prestige (directly from the artist’s studio to the private collection of Giovanbattista Vaiani Lisi, who was Maccari’s principal gallerist from the 1960s until the Maestro’s death) and by an impeccable documentary and bibliographic record.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES AND CRITICISM ON THE ARTIST
Mino Maccari (Siena, 1898 – Rome, 1989) was an Italian painter, engraver, writer, and journalist, a central and multifaceted figure of the 20th-century cultural scene. From the 1920s he established himself as one of the sharpest intellectuals of his time, directing the celebrated magazine Il Selvaggio (the official organ of the Strapaese movement), through whose pages he launched biting satire via illustrations and woodcuts with an unmistakable style, defending Italian popular traditions against bourgeois and cosmopolitan drift.
In the postwar period, his painting erupted into free, colorful, caustic figuration. Maccari became the great portraitist of the vices, hypocrisies, and weaknesses of Italian society, filling his canvases with patricians, soldiers, prostitutes, prelates, and emboldened bourgeoisie. His brushwork is rapid, nervous, with an inherently expressionist lineage, yet always tempered by a deep chromatic sensitivity and a formidable sense of humor.

Alongside painting, he is internationally recognized as one of the greatest 20th-century European engravers. He participated in numerous editions of the Venice Biennale and the Rome Quadriennale, and received high-level honors. His works are now in the most important Italian modern art galleries and major private collections, confirming him as a giant of satirical and Italian painting.

SHIPPING AND PACKAGING
Packaging: We guarantee professional, rigid, and tailor-made packaging designed to preserve the complete integrity of the canvas and its frame during transit, shielding it from knocks and moisture.
Carrier: Tracked, fast, and secure shipping via express courier. To guarantee the buyer, the shipment is insured for this item.
Customs and Export (Non-EU): For buyers outside the European Union, shipping may require the technical time necessary to obtain the Export License from MiC (Ministry of Culture). Any customs duties are the buyer’s responsibility.
Invoicing: Professional seller. The work will be accompanied by a tax receipt (or electronic invoice, available upon request by providing your details at the time of winning the lot).