GAMeC’s collections have been enriched by a body of works by Mario Sironi, one of the masters of 20th-century Italian painting.

The donation, stemming from an agreement between the Municipality of Bergamo and art historian Andrea Sironi-Straußwald, the artist’s nephew, brings to the museum significant works that shed light on his creative process.

The acquisition includes a large preparatory cartoon for L’Italia tra le Arti e le Scienze, the monumental fresco created in 1935 for the Aula Magna of Sapienza University in Rome: a piece that completes the work Figura (Grande nudo), already held by GAMeC, revealing that the two parts originally formed a single compositional drawing.

The donation also includes a sketch related to the large canvas panels (teleri) created for Bergamo’s Main Post Office (Palazzo delle Poste) and six drawings dedicated to the design of the tomb of his daughter, Rossana.

This latter group of works bears witness to his strong bond with Bergamo: the artist rests in the city’s Monumental Cemetery within family tombs today protected by the Municipality as historical heritage.

The body of works will be presented on Friday, October 16, at 6:30 PM.
Free admission.

Speakers:

Andrea Sironi-Straußwald, Heir to the artist and donor
Sergio Gandi, Councillor for Culture of the Municipality of Bergamo
Giacomo Angeloni, Cuncillor for Cemetery Services of the Municipality of Bergamo
Simona Bonaldi, President of GAMeC
Lorenzo Giusti, Director of GAMeC

To enhance and further explore this group of works, critical essays and testimonies by Andrea Iezzi, Mariastella Margozzi, A. Fabrizia Previtali, and Andrea Sironi-Straußwald have been compiled into a dedicated booklet.

The donated works will be displayed as part of the exhibition Una Galleria, Tante Collezioni alongside the Sironi works already preserved by the museum: in addition to Grande nudo, the paintings Operaio e casa (1930, donated by Davide Cugini), Montagne (1947, donated by Teresa Elisa Coltri Agliardi), Composizione (1949, donated by Gianfranco and Marta Stucchi), Composizione con viandanti (1952, donated by the Felli Family), and the 1933 bronze medal Il ceramista, part of the Vittorio Lorioli Collection.