Alberto Magnelli (1888-1971) is considered as one of the leading masters of abstract art of the 20th century. After an initial approach to abstraction in the 1910s, he returned to austere figuration in the 20s, under the influence of Giorgio de Chirico.

The 32 drawings presented are part of preparatory notebooks for the Stones series which, in the early 30s, marked the definitive conversion of Magnelli to abstraction.

This is the first time the drawings are shown. Produced in 1931 at Viareggio, they reveal the anthropomorphic character of the artist’s vision of marble blocks from the quarries at Carrara, the inspiration for the famous series.

“Everyone said that the stones were the starting point for Magnelli’s last abstract period. The drawings also served as models for the large number of paintings produced between 1931 and 1934,”, wrote Nello di Meo.

The book’s foreword, written by Antonio Tabucchi, another famous Tuscan, puts forward a rich account of stone and its metaphors:

“The writer looked at the stones and said to himself, What is a stone? After thinking about it at length he decided that a stone is a stone is a stone. All right. But perhaps a stone signifies something? No, a stone is itself, like a tree of itself means nothing. And then, where were they, these stones? In the air, like stars dancing in the cosmos? In thepainter’s heart? In his life?”

Alberto Magnelli, born in Florence in 1888, settled permanently in France in 1931. His works are exhibited in museums around the world, from the Georges Pompidou Center to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York.

The exhibition of drawings by Alberto Magnelli will be presented from October 15 until November 28 2009 at Galerie Di Meo.