Dante's Inferno illustrated by cartoonist Lorenzo Mattotti: exhibition in Aosta Valley

For the first time, until September 25, 2021, at the Tour de l’Archet in Morgex(Valle d’Aosta), the public will be able to admire 10 original illustrations and more than 40 preparatory drawings and pencil sketches that document the study and work of cartoonist, illustrator and director Lorenzo Mattotti (Brescia, 1954) aroundInferno and the long tradition of its iconographic transposition, and constitute an overlook of Dante’s afterlife. In 1999, Mattotti had created the plates needed to illustrate the first cantica of the Comedy, on the occasion of its publication by the Milanese publisher Nuages, which had entrusted Milton Glaser with the Purgatory and Mœbius with the Paradise.

The exhibition is organized by the Fondazione Centro studi storico-letterari Natalino Sapegno onlus, on the 700th anniversary of Dante Alighieri’s death. Precisely the commentary by Natalino Sapegno (who of Dante’s work was one of the finest and most celebrated interpreters) will accompany visitors, ensuring them a complete immersion in the poet’s imagery and dictation.

The Sapegno Foundation (under the patronage of the National Committee for the Celebration of Dante’s Centennial) has organized two other initiatives to celebrate Alighieri:

- the advanced training seminar on Dante and the literature of the West (to be held Sept. 13-18), at which leading Dante scholars, both Italian and foreign, and numerous young researchers will speak;

- the conference Dante and the School (Nov. 10), aimed especially at Italian secondary school teachers and also sponsored by Accademia della Crusca, Fondazione I Lincei per la Scuola, and Associazione degli Italianisti.

Lorenzo Mattotti lives and works in Paris. He made his debut in the late 1970s as a comic book author and, in the early 1980s, founded the Valvoline group with other illustrators. In 1984, he produced Fuochi, which, received as an event in the world of comics, won major international awards. With Incident, Signor Spartaco, Doctor Nefasto, L’uomo alla finestra and many other books up to Stigmate, Mattotti’s work has evolved according to a constant of great consistency but in the eclectic sign of someone who always chooses to try his hand in the new. Today his books are translated all over the world. He publishes in newspapers and magazines such as The New Yorker, Le Monde, Das Magazin, Suddeutsche Zeitung, Nouvel Observateur, Corriere della Sera and Repubblica. For fashion, she has interpreted the designs of the most famous designers in Vanity magazine. For children, he has illustrated several books including Pinocchio and Eugenio, which won the Bratislava Grand Prix in ’93, one of the highest awards in children’s publishing. He has had numerous solo exhibitions, including an anthological exhibition at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome, the FransHals Museum in Haarlem, and the Porta Romana Museums. Recent publications include: The Noise of Frost, Jekyll & Hyde, Angkor - Carnet de voyage, Mattot’s Posters, and the very recent Rites, Streams, Mountains and Castles(Logos), with drawings made during the pandemic, and Looking into Hell (Nuages). He creates posters, covers, and advertising campaigns; the poster for Cannes 2000 and the posters for the Roman Summer are his. He recently collaborated on Wong Kar way - Soderbergh and Antonioni’s Eros, editing the presentation segments of each episode.

For all information you can visit the official website of the Sapegno Foundation.

Pictured: a work by Lorenzo Mattotti

Dante's Inferno illustrated by cartoonist Lorenzo Mattotti: exhibition in Aosta Valley

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