Umberto Mastroianni (1910-1998) - Vita di Vittorio Alfieri

An extraordinary intaglio engraving, proof of print, by Umberto Mastroianni, which I acquired in the 1980s directly from the artist's studio in Marino Laziale.
It is essentially a one-of-a-kind piece, as Mastroianni told me that the red was applied by his own hand as a color sample.
The printing was then carried out, with a color different from red, on the presses of Editore Fogola in Turin, to illustrate the book 'Vita di Vittorio Alfieri da Asti scritta da esso'.
The sheet (heavy handmade paper) measures 42x30 cm and shows browning at the edges, signs of age. Otherwise, the work is exactly as I received it from Mastroianni, having always kept it in a folder.
Photos do not convey the texture and the effect of depressions and reliefs that make this work a true 'bas-relief on paper'.