Il lavoro inciso. Capolavori dell'arte grafica da Millet a Vedova

Published to mark the centenary of the CGIL, the Italian General Confederation of Work, this work presents the iconography of work in European graphic arts of the twentieth century, giving an exceptional panorama of the evolution of the relationship between the human and work from the end of the nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century.
The publication examines such themes as French peasants in the late nineteenth century, the workers of the industrial revolution, and the masses of destitute and unemployed in Berlin in the post-Second World War period, through graphics, drawing, lithography, etching and wood-block, which have masterfully told the story of workers and their places of work, how the environment has changed through action produced by work, and the development of the city and technology.

The publication, part of the exhibition being held at the Museo Castromediano in Lecce and which will move to the Fondazione Stelline in Milan, traces the stages of this artistic evolution throughout a century and a half. The book begins with an extensive and valuable prologue dedicated to nineteenth-century interpreters of the naturalist genre; this is continued by examining the works of the realist masters, and then to the turn of the century and the great precursors of expressionism. The twentieth century is divided into the expressionists - die Brücke and the New Objectivity - and also the experiences of the Italians, the Belgians, and the Slavs, in addition to the unique contributions of Picasso and Léger. The publication then continues by considering the difficult years of the First and Second World Wars, ending by examining the significant and challenging period of Milan existential realism.

The entire span of European engraving during the twentieth century, connected to the theme of work, is illustrated through prominent figures and also less well-known personalities. The book lucidly documents the different artistic currents of the twentieth century, from the most famous (Art Nouveau, Cubism, Expressionism), to regional movements (for example, Milan existential realism). If we look at Eastern European artist books (many of which have not been seen before) we see the influence of late Impressionism, echoes of Die Brücke Expressionism and Neue Sachlichkeit, the New Objectivity, and more recent contemporary experiences.
Alongside the fundamental events of Italian, French, German and English graphic art of the twentieth century, there is also a thorough look at the Swiss experience, through the works of artists belonging to various trends that developed between the end of the nineteenth century to the 1980s, many of which show an extraordinary talent though little research has been dedicated to them.

The publication includes critical essays by Luigi Martini (Il lavoro inciso), Patrizia Foglia (Alla conquista della dignità: grafica e lavoro nel XIX secolo) and Chiara Gatti (Nel segno del reportage. Arte, progresso e società nella grafica del Novecento), followed by the catalogue of works that explores all the key themes connected with the iconography of work, from traditional images of the nineteenth-century to the myth of the machine, worker struggles, the world of the humbles and finally the city and phenomena resulting from urbanisation, incommunicability and solitude.