Public Art

The idea of art as communication and as a means of conveying a political message is one of the major themes of the 1930s. In 1933 Mario Sironi wrote the Manifesto of Muralism and the 5th Milan Triennale devoted its brand new exhibition space to the same theme. This was the year which saw the birth of the concept that artists should subscribe to Fascist doctrine and disseminate its message to the general public through painting, sculpture, bas-reliefs and mosaics in public spaces such as stations, post offices and law courts. These major decorative schemes, inseparable from the architecture for which they were designed, are represented by a selection of preparatory drawings and sketches by the leading Italian artists of the time: Sironi, Severini, Funi, Martini and Fontana.