Grafica Gutenberg Editrice di Bergamo in 1976
curated by Carlo Angelini
1976, the year in which this volume is published, it is an important year in Italy: in May there is the earthquake of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, in June PCI in July the disaster of Seveso, while lead years continue, Panama wins the Roland Garros and if on one side Cocciante sings Margherita, on the other Celentano triumphs with Sevaluation, song that I love without remorse (and I put it here so that you can sing it because it is current as never, and then Celentano who sings as a seated is a show! )
In a situation so mature new ideas also at cultural level and Carlo Angelini takes care of the reprint of the 33 games of the Mitello.
Angelini architect graduated from the Milan Polytechnic [like my MissItaly- Mom's pride] was an engraver and restorer from Bergamo but also designer, scenographer, designer, restorer of historical buildings, explorer (for example he led restoration campaigns in Ethiopia). Above all, he was himself a practitioner of engraving art and a deep connoisseur of ancient geographic techniques.
The idea that circulated in those years was that it was necessary to proceed towards a reassessment of Popular culture: from ethnography to dialectal linguistics, from handicrafts to traditional holidays. To say, the faculty of Trento had crowned graduates the first 18 students only ten years before, in 1966.
It is post-sessantottino climate that pushes to look "bottom" and "on the margins", and the engravings of 1600 of Mitelli, with their texts in Bolognese dialect, scenes of daily life, references to the crafts and customs of the people, which suddenly become precious material.
The 1970s saw a boom in quality art publishing: publishing houses like The Polifilo, Neri Pozza, Franco Maria Ricci and the various local "Grafiche" (including the Grafica Gutenberg of Bergamo that edited this volume) produce fac-similars, reprints and portfolios of ancient prints in limited editions, intended for a public cultured of libraries and collectors and the banks become patrons.
The subject on which Angelini concentrates are the tables of the Mitelli, engraved 300 years before by such that as a painter was quite poor, but he found his lifeblood in satirical incision. And beyond the engraving technique, Angelini discovered how those games were actually a form of socialization, moral education, propaganda, satire.
This "communicative" function of the game was what fascinated the scholars of the 1970s, at a time when they began to seriously study visual communication and mass culture, restoring dignity and visibility to the Italian popular culture. Not only Michelangelo, but many and many Mitelli, scattered in the countryside and cities taught something to everyone.
and here is the link to the video in which I sfoglio in ASMR the tables
ANDmodern diction in facsimile that reproduces the 33 famous waterforths of table games made by the Bolognese engraver Giuseppe Maria Mitelli (1634-1718).
- Format: in-folio oblong (horizontal)
- Body: 15 pages loose introductory text + 42 tables loose, printed on the single fence, with reproductions of the original engravings
- Cover: folder/portfolio in cardboard with engraved title. The letters "MITELLI" below are formed by figures of putti playing
available, just contact me this link here
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