MDCCC 1800

Journal | MDCCC 1800
Journal issue | 5 | 2016
Research Article | Alessandro Morani and the Past

Alessandro Morani and the Past

Copy, Revival and Decorative Art in Late-Nineteenth-Century Rome

Abstract

Alessandro Morani is one of the leading figures of the artistic world of the late 19th century in Rome. A landscape painter who had trained in the entourage of Nino Costa, he is better known as the founder of the ‘In Arte Libertas’ group in 1886 and for his connection with Gabriele D’Annunzio. Furthermore, Morani was one of the leading Italian decorative painters who was inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement. He also taught ornament art and design at the School of the Museum of Industrial Art in Rome. Thanks to his talent in copying, in 1896 his father in law, the archaeologist Wolfgang Helbig, appointed him and a group of painters to the task of  reproducing some Etruscan tomb paintings in Tarquinia for the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek of Copenhagen. The reconstruction of the connections between the different parts of his career, with a focus on the past five years of the 19th century, allows us to outline the historical context of the time, in which copies, conservative needs, revival of the arts of the past and decoration elements were intimately intertwined.


Open access | Peer reviewed

Published July 27, 2016 | Language: it

Keywords RevivalApplied artsWolfgang HelbigCopyNino CostaArts and CraftsAlessandro MoraniDecorative artsGabriele D'AnnunzioGiacomo BoniIndustrial artsCalcoFacsimileEtruscan painting


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