Rare invitation to the first and only exhibition of the Dada movement in Italy. 5 3/8 x 7 15/16 inches, printed recto and verso. Loose as issued. Very light toning, overall excellent. Rome: Casa d'Arte Bragaglia, [1921].

Although Dada was an international art movement, it never gained much traction in Italy. A small group of Italian Dadaists emerged in Mantua, but they had little impact on the greater art world. During their brief period of activity, the Italian Dadaists published a short-lived magazine "BLEU" and held an exhibition in Rome. This item is an invitation to that exhibition.

The front of the invitation mentions the participation of Julus Evola, Aldo Fiozzi, and Gino Cantarelli, the three most important representatives of Italian Dadaism. The exhibition was held at the Galleria d'Arte Bragaglia from April 15 to 30, 1921, alongside performances at the Grotte dell'Augusteo cabaret, and included posters setting out the principles of Dadaism, poems by Tristan Tzara, recitations of works by Cantarelli and Louis Aragon, and music by Erik Satie, Igor Stravinsky, and Arnold Schoenberg.

A rare and ephemeral document attesting to the short-lived presence of the Dada movement in Italy. As of March 2025, OCLC shows only one individual holding for this invitation, in Switzerland.

Book ID: 53447

Price: $2,500.00