Illustrators for Gianni Rodari Italian excellence
18 January 2021 /
Illustrators for Gianni Rodari
Italian excellence2020 marks the centenary of the birth of Gianni Rodari, born on October 23,1920. Writer, teacher, journalist and poet, Rodari was one of the most innovative literary voices of the last century.
Among the world’s best loved and influential children’s authors, Gianni Rodari was the first Italian writer to receive – in 1970 – the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award, generally considered the Nobel Prize for children’s literature.
His work includes fairy stories, nursery rhymes, short stories and novels, as well as his famous essay “La grammatica della fantasia”, a seminal reference text for children’s literature and education specialists. Innovative, universal and still effortlessly topical, Rodari’s work has been translated and re-printed the world over. It remains an inexhaustible source of inspiration for numerous Italian artists, who down the years have put his words into pictures.
This exhibition looks at some of the artists who in the last fifty years have illustrated Rodari’s texts. Starting with towering figures like Luzzati and Munari through to internationally renowned contemporary artists, the exhibition also gives a fascinating overview of Italian illustration excellence.
