2 September 2007 – 6 January 2008

The exhibition, curated by Paola Mola and Fabio Vittucci, will trace the rediscovery of the complex contemporary aesthetics of Medardo Rosso through sculptures, waxes, plasters, bronzes, photos and previously unpublished documents. The project has been realized in collaboration with the Museo Rosso in Barzio (Como), which houses the entire legacy of the sculptor’s works and archive, bequeathed in its entirety to his great-granddaughter, Danila Marsure Rosso. Rosso is a renowned artist, widely studied and firmly consolidated in the European scene of late 19th-century sculpture as a precursor of modernity. And yet Rosso remains unknown for the most significant part of his production. The systematic and detailed scrutiny of documents, papers and letters from the archive, instigated by Danila

Marsure Rosso a few years ago and carried out by Paola Mola and Fabio Vittucci, with further research in Italy and abroad, has opened new unexpected horizons that go against the perceived image of the ‘Scapigliatura’–Impressionist sculptor. Perhaps the most important premise of this exhibition will be to clarify the aesthetic quality of Rosso’s production with the presentation of incontrovertibly signature works, whose history will be reconstructed from their conception, drawing on the studies and research carried out for the catalogue raisonné supported by the Archivio Rosso and about to be published. The decision to exhibit a selection of 22 documented sculptures reveals the complex task of dating and reconstructing Rosso’s artistic production. Furthermore, his photographic work is given prominent space in the exhibition, with over 50 photos from the Archivio Rosso which will further our understanding of the relationship between Sculpture and Photography.