The beginning of Fabrizio Clerici's career, both in Italy and internationally. The tale of an artist who was visionary and eccentric

Abstract

This paper aims to elucidate fundamental aspects of Fabrizio Clerici’s life and the inception of his career, positioning him within what can be defined as an “Italian fantastic current.” The documents retained in his archive, a considerable portion of which remains unpublished, have enabled the reconstruction of events pertaining to Clerici and the artists linked to him. Owing to the difficulties encountered by Italian critics regarding the Surrealism, these individuals were omitted from the history of art in Italy due to their affiliations with the French movement. Leonor Fini, Stanislao Lepri, Eugene Berman, and Pavel Tchelitchew constitute notable figures that merit inclusion in this context. Central to this research was the considerable correspondence with the artistic and intellectual milieu both in Italy and internationally, numerous photographs serving as direct testimony to the events experienced, and a comprehensive library consisting of rare catalogues and first editions.