Giovanni Lista

Big, beautiful monograph about the Italian futurist painter (1871-1958). The bulk of the book is taken up by an illustrated catalogue of his works—although unfortunately only a relatively small proportion of the 1000+ illustrations are in colour. This is preceded by a lengthy critical & biographical essay by Giovanni Lista, which is given in Italian with parallel translations in French, English and German. The English translation, courtesy of one Howard Rodger MacLean, is rather stilted, but good enough to convey Lista’s meaning. There is also a Preface, and a short biographical note courtesy of Balla’s daughter Elica, plus a few pages of Balla’s writings: some previously unpublished letters and a few manifesto-type screeds. Rounding out the book are comprehensive bibliographies, lists of exhibitions, etc., and an index.… (mer)