Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76M AU R I Z I O M A G R E T T I 7 The art of Maurizio Magretti is a poetic message in which the semantics of each painting, the link betweenhistory,symbolsandmaterials, is expressed admirably. Whether they are frescoes, painted decorations, still lifes, trompe l’oeils, preservative restorationsorpaintings,whatemerges from all of his works is a soothing hint of both the old and modern masters: from early Renaissance painters such as Giotto, Masaccio, Donatello and Michelangelo, for whom Tuscany was a treasured homeland, through to the great Tuscan figurative painters, such as Annigoni, Stefanelli, Guarnieri, Carlini, Filippelli, and his teacher, Fornaini. As a result, we can safely say that Magretti’s art is an ideal combination and continuation of the classic, with a modern twist. The secret of his painting lies not only in the meticulous effort required to create his multifarious, elegant works, but also in his ability to successfully bring together history, art, design and architecture. Thanks to the interaction of these four elements, the genius loci or spirit of a place lived in and visited by men imposes itself as an artificial place, one which is cosmic as much as intimate, but which finds a precise identity in reflecting the mood of those who inhabit it. Between the romantic universe and the cosmic macrocosm, his works therefore exist and live (not by chance) in symbiosis, amongst history, people, houses and furniture. From classical frescoes looking out towards the infinite horizon to the depictionofman,andstilllifesinwhich Magretti’s realism has nothing to do with the mere reproduction of reality, but becomes a spiritual meditation on the perspectives that concern the work’s aesthetic issues. From the artist’s forays into other artistic trends, from symbolism to surrealism, to paintings in a Far Eastern style which prioritises nature over man: landscapes, animals, flowers and trees. A style of painting in which the flora itself, with its trees and flowers, attempts to augment these qualities so it is capable of ordering human relationships, thus seeking to represent the four seasons of man and woman: from the four stages of life to the four virtues. Magretti’s work is therefore a poetry of the soul; with his art, he seems to invite us to reflect and share in a special relationship with the universe of wonders. Silvano Granchi