L'avanguardia disamata: il Surrealismo e l'Italia, 1959-1977

The thesis examines the critical debate, exhibition history, impact on contemporary artistic practices, commercial success, and editorial dissemination of Surrealism in Italy between 1959 and 1977. It is divided into four parts. A methodological introductory part addresses and contextualizes the fundamental concepts of ‘Surrealism,’ ‘Italy,’ ‘Rejection,’ and ‘Revival.’ It is followed by three thematic parts centred around three themes which fostered the Italian reception of Surrealism: stance, objects, and painting.The first of three thematic sections addresses Surrealism ‘as a stance,’ highlighting how the attitudes of Surrealist artists provided a channel for the Movement’s survival and relevance in Italy. The research focuses on the persistence of Surrealist strategies in Italian groups, exhibitions, and periodicals. Next, it addresses the Italian discussion on the relationship between Surrealism and politics, focusing on the case of Roberto Matta. Finally, it addresses two specific artistic stances of Surrealist origin, which were the subject of significant Italian recoveries: the artist as suicide and the artist as writer.The second thematic section examines Surrealism ‘as objects.’ A historical survey of the circulation of Surrealist objects in Italy and the theoretical debate around objecthood that they stimulated introduces an analysis of their impact on the practices of Italian artists. Monographic insights are here devoted to the Italian reception of Man Ray and Meret Oppenheim. Finally, the Surrealist object, conceived as an anti-plastic sculptural entity, serves as a critical category for reassessing the relationship between Arte povera and Surrealism.The last thematic section deals with Surrealism ‘as painting’ by interweaving thematic paragraphs with monographic insights into the Italian reception of Max Ernst, Joan Miró, René Magritte, and Salvador Dalí. The complex definition of the characters of Surrealist painting sparks a reflection on the relationship between abstraction and figuration in Italy in the early 1960s. Next, some Italian episodes introduce the theme of the relationship between Surrealism and Pop Art. Finally, the research dwells on the values of Kitsch and bad taste that characterized the Italian reception of a part of Surrealist painting, introducing its relations with late-70s neo-figurative tendencies.