Lot No. 136


Fortunato Depero *


Fortunato Depero * - Modern Art

(Fondo/Trient 1892–1960 Rovereto)
Depero Futurista (Libro bullonato-The Bolted Book), 1927–1928, book with original editorial binding with two thick cardboard flats and aluminium bolts, nuts and split pins; titled printed in black and silver on light blue cover; 234 pages including 1 double folded paper + 4 tissue papers, one of them printed; on page 2, stamp of the publisher with handwritten no. 879 from the edition of 1000, not fully completed. Edition by Dinamo Azari, Milan.
Printed by Dinamo Mercurio, Rovereto,
24 x 32 cm

Provenance:
European Private Collection

Literature:
Giovanni Lista, Le livre Futuriste, F. C. Panini ed., 1984, p. 108, pl. 250
(published on the occasion of the exhibition “Le livre Futuriste” at Hotel Galliffet, Paris, October 1984)
Maurizio Fagiolo dell’Arco, Depero, Electa, 1988, pp. 48/49 (published on the occasion of the exhibition at MART Museum in Rovereto, November 1988/January 1989)

In the long history of the “Artist’s Book”, many have ventured into this publishing genre that combines poetry and writing with the most disparate experiments in the field of visual arts: Picasso, Chagall, Matisse, Robert Delaunay, several Russian avant-garde artists and more contemporary ones, such as Duchamp, Lia Drei and Bruno Munari, to name just a few.
Fortunato Depero‘s “Libro bullonato”, or bolt book, is the first example of a “book-object”, representing a perfect synthesis of Futurist thought and the myth of the “machine”.
Depero designed it in 1927 to celebrate the fame he had reached fourteen years after joining Marinetti’s movement. He also used it to promote his work as a graphic designer in New York, where he moved in 1928 for a series of long-term collaborations in advertising.
The book collects his experiences not only in the fields of painting and sculpture but in all forms of applied art (including fashion, advertising, architecture, and furniture) through which this visionary artist expressed himself, in keeping with the ideas set out by Giacomo Balla in his manifesto “The Futurist Reconstruction of the Universe”.
The book’s typographic shape simulates a mechanical object thanks to its binding composed of two thick cardboard plates held together by bolts and nuts, secured by cotter pins. Depero calls it a “dangerous object”, because, if placed on a bookshelf next to other books, it can damage the latter with its aluminium bolts.
The book is also a toy machine, where the act of flipping through the pages produces a kinetic effect. Also, the bolts that bind the book can be removed, allowing users to rearrange the pages to their liking, or hang them on the wall as individual paintings, thus becoming a “Depero Museum” in portable form.
The pages of the book constitute an extraordinary anticipation of modern graphics: printed on different papers of varying weights, some of which coloured, they alternate ink prints, photographs, colour reproductions, so-called “tavole parolibere” (free-word pictures), typographic experiments and advertising ideas (in particular, an entire chapter is devoted to the advertisements created by the artist during his long cooperation with Campari).
The book’s declared edition of 1,000 copies was never completed, because of its high publishing costs.
A few luxury editions of the volume were made, featuring metal covers. They were intended for high profile figures of the time, and are now unobtainable.

28.11.2018 - 17:00

Realized price: **
EUR 20,000.-
Estimate:
EUR 10,000.- to EUR 12,000.-

Fortunato Depero *


(Fondo/Trient 1892–1960 Rovereto)
Depero Futurista (Libro bullonato-The Bolted Book), 1927–1928, book with original editorial binding with two thick cardboard flats and aluminium bolts, nuts and split pins; titled printed in black and silver on light blue cover; 234 pages including 1 double folded paper + 4 tissue papers, one of them printed; on page 2, stamp of the publisher with handwritten no. 879 from the edition of 1000, not fully completed. Edition by Dinamo Azari, Milan.
Printed by Dinamo Mercurio, Rovereto,
24 x 32 cm

Provenance:
European Private Collection

Literature:
Giovanni Lista, Le livre Futuriste, F. C. Panini ed., 1984, p. 108, pl. 250
(published on the occasion of the exhibition “Le livre Futuriste” at Hotel Galliffet, Paris, October 1984)
Maurizio Fagiolo dell’Arco, Depero, Electa, 1988, pp. 48/49 (published on the occasion of the exhibition at MART Museum in Rovereto, November 1988/January 1989)

In the long history of the “Artist’s Book”, many have ventured into this publishing genre that combines poetry and writing with the most disparate experiments in the field of visual arts: Picasso, Chagall, Matisse, Robert Delaunay, several Russian avant-garde artists and more contemporary ones, such as Duchamp, Lia Drei and Bruno Munari, to name just a few.
Fortunato Depero‘s “Libro bullonato”, or bolt book, is the first example of a “book-object”, representing a perfect synthesis of Futurist thought and the myth of the “machine”.
Depero designed it in 1927 to celebrate the fame he had reached fourteen years after joining Marinetti’s movement. He also used it to promote his work as a graphic designer in New York, where he moved in 1928 for a series of long-term collaborations in advertising.
The book collects his experiences not only in the fields of painting and sculpture but in all forms of applied art (including fashion, advertising, architecture, and furniture) through which this visionary artist expressed himself, in keeping with the ideas set out by Giacomo Balla in his manifesto “The Futurist Reconstruction of the Universe”.
The book’s typographic shape simulates a mechanical object thanks to its binding composed of two thick cardboard plates held together by bolts and nuts, secured by cotter pins. Depero calls it a “dangerous object”, because, if placed on a bookshelf next to other books, it can damage the latter with its aluminium bolts.
The book is also a toy machine, where the act of flipping through the pages produces a kinetic effect. Also, the bolts that bind the book can be removed, allowing users to rearrange the pages to their liking, or hang them on the wall as individual paintings, thus becoming a “Depero Museum” in portable form.
The pages of the book constitute an extraordinary anticipation of modern graphics: printed on different papers of varying weights, some of which coloured, they alternate ink prints, photographs, colour reproductions, so-called “tavole parolibere” (free-word pictures), typographic experiments and advertising ideas (in particular, an entire chapter is devoted to the advertisements created by the artist during his long cooperation with Campari).
The book’s declared edition of 1,000 copies was never completed, because of its high publishing costs.
A few luxury editions of the volume were made, featuring metal covers. They were intended for high profile figures of the time, and are now unobtainable.


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Auction: Modern Art
Auction type: Saleroom auction
Date: 28.11.2018 - 17:00
Location: Vienna | Palais Dorotheum
Exhibition: 17.11. - 28.11.2018


** Purchase price incl. buyer's premium and VAT

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