Alberto Martini

Following great success at Galleria del Laocoonte and W. Apolloni in Rome, Laocoon Gallery now presents to London a fascinating collection of art by Alberto Martini (Oderzo 1876 – Milan 1954).

Exhibition dates: 1st – 28th November 2019

The show comprises a mixture of works including gloriously sinister illustrations in Indian ink for the tales of Edgar Allan Poe alongside a selection of works from Il Poema Delle Ombre (Poem of the Shadows), a mysterious collection which the artist produced in 1904 and continued in 1909.

The stimulus for these works is unknown, perhaps they were designed to illustrate a poem or theatrical text, the only clue to the puzzle is a condensed list comprising an enigmatic summary which in fact makes the function of the illustrations even more mysterious. A mute chorus of masks is watching us.

There is Venice and its carnival, but there are also masks of conspirators, perhaps of thieves and murderers, as well as voluptuous veiled female masks that make us think of conspiracies of another kind; of secret conferences and kisses between unknown lovers, of the streets of Venice by night, filled with intriguing characters, from the great Casanova to the devastating femme fatale Marchesa Casati.