Letters from Ardengo Soffici to Mino Maccari

Signed letter from Ardengo Soffici, addressed to Mino Maccari. Poggio a Caiano, April 28, 1934. 2 pp. front and back. (15x19 cm). Perfect condition.

Arengo Soffici built his reputation during his stay in paris. During these seven years in Paris, he worked as an illustrator on important magazines such as L'Assiette au Beurre. Here he had the opportunity to meet artists such as Guillaume Apollinaire, Pablo Picasso and Max Jacob, and to attend the La plume magazine events. For La Plume Magazine the "Europe Artiste" magazine, he wrote numerous articles. Also, he met very important Italian artists and writers, such as Giovanni Vailati, Emilio Notte, Mario Calderoni and Giovanni Papini. Dispite the difference of personality, he made a strong friendship with Giuseppe Prezzolini. He was one of the principal collaborators of the magazine "Voce" and founded with Papini in 1913 the magazine "Lacerba". Also, he collaborated to the magazine "Popolo d'Italia", and was a committed fascist. He firstly worked as a critic of art, meant to demolish the avant-garde and to highlight some of the greatest personalities of French Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. Among the masters of Paris he worked with, Cézanne's teaching was for Soffici the most important one. In the letters addressed to Mino Maccari, his co-writer for the magazine "Il Selvaggio", he expresses his meticulousness and precision in every phase of the drawing creation. Also, he writes "Ho bisogno di avere ogni cosa sott’occhio. (…) Circa il disegno, credo che possa venire stampato. Di’ al chicheur che lo fotografi forte e al tipografo che lo inchiostri e lo taccheggi bene perché non appaia troppo scialbo.” Then he continues with other interesting details, reports of previous magazine editions and Mino Maccari's current and future works.