Roberto Melli (1885–1958) was an Italian painter and sculptor to the ''

Scuola Romana Scuola romana or Scuola di via Cavour was a 20th-century art movement defined by a group of painters within Expressionism and active in Rome between 1928 and 1945, and with a second phase in the mid-1950s. Birth of the movement In November 192 ...

'', and active in

Ferrara Ferrara (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, capital of the province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main ...

and Rome.

Short biography

Born in Ferrara from a Jewish family of traders, in his twenties Melli moved to

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

to start an apprenticeship as an engraver and thereby discovered his artistic talent. He began an activity as

xylographer Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with Chisel#Gouge, gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts ...

, befriending painter and

etcher Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...

Giorgio De Vincenzi, also from Ferrara. In 1910 Melli moved to Rome, where he shared a studio with sculptor Giovanni Prini. In 1913 he participated in the first exhibition of the ''

'', and subsequently exhibited his work at various shows organised by the

Futurism Futurism ( ) was an Art movement, artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such as the ...

movement, although Melli from then on would pursue his own peculiar style and technique. In 1915, together with artists Vittorio Costantini, Cipriano Efisio Oppo and Guglielmo Pizzirani, Melli formed the "Gruppo Moderno Italiano" (Modern Italian Group) and in 1918 he contributed to the creation of the magazine and current "

Valori Plastici ''Valori plastici'' () was an Italian magazine published in Rome in Italian and French. The magazines existed between 1918 and 1922. History and profile ''Valori plastici'' was established in Rome by the painter and art collector Mario Broglio ...

". He became friends with Giuseppe Capogrossi and

Emanuele Cavalli Emanuele Cavalli (1904–1981) was an Italian painter belonging to the modern movement of the Scuola Romana (Roman School). He was also a renowned photographer, who experimented with new techniques since the 1930s. Biography The son of Apulian la ...

, and undersigned the "Manifesto del Primordialismo Plastico". After his personal exhibition in 1936, his public activity was interrupted by the Fascist antisemitic laws, which prohibited any Jewish artists to exhibit work in public galleries and teach in schools. This produced in Melli a profound crisis; his only comfort was his wife's closeness and love. Melli resumed his artistic work after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, in his Roman flat at

Testaccio Testaccio () is the 20th of Rome, Italy, identified by the initials R. XX, deriving its name from Monte Testaccio. It is located within the Municipio I. Its coat of arms depicts an amphora, referencing to the broken vessels that Monte Testaccio ...

, where each week he hosted a group of young painters who included

Renato Guttuso Aldo Renato Guttuso (26 December 1911 – 18 January 1987) was an Italian painter and politician. He is considered to be among the most important Italian artists of the 20th century and is among the key figures of Italian expressionism. His art i ...

, Enrico Accatino, and Fausto Pirandello. From 1945 he taught at the ''

Accademia di Belle Arti This is a list of the tertiary-level schools or academies of fine art in Italy that are recognised by the Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Università e della Ricerca, the Italian ministry of higher education. Accademie di Belle Arti The of ...

'' of Rome and participated in several personal and collective exhibitions. By this time, Melli was considered one of the major representatives of the ''Scuola Romana''. In 1950, he was finally invited to exhibit at the

Biennale di Venezia The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Architecture Biennale (), which are held in alternating ye ...

, which honoured him with a ''personale''. In his last years, Melli continued a parallel activity of painter and art critic. In 1957 he published a book of poetry, ''Lunga favolosa notte (The Fabulous Long Night)'', and in 1958 the

Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna The ("National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art"), also known as La Galleria Nazionale, is an art museum in Rome. It was founded in 1883 on the initiative of the then minister Guido Baccelli and is dedicated to modern and contemporary ar ...

in Rome opened a retrospective exhibition of his work, organised by curators Nello Ponente and Palma Bucarelli.
Melli died soon after.

Assessment

Melli was a painter of great visions, chromatism, and composition – at times, intimate in his pictorial expressions, at others strongly figurative. Exhibited permanently at the

of Rome, two works are especially important in his production: ''La casa rossa (The Red House)'' (1923), a figurative painting that seems a precursor of

Edward Hopper Edward Hopper (July 22, 1882 – May 15, 1967) was an American realism painter and printmaker. He is one of America's most renowned artists and known for his skill in depicting modern American life and landscapes. Born in Nyack, New York, to a ...

's style and much of the American production; and the sculpture ''Signora dal Cappello Nero (Lady with Black Hat)'' (1913), this too an anticipation of a parallel tridimensional experimentation by Italian artist

Umberto Boccioni Umberto Boccioni (; ; 19 October 1882 – 17 August 1916) was an influential Italian painter and sculptor. He helped shape the revolutionary aesthetic of the Futurism movement as one of its principal figures. Despite his short life, his approach ...

.Cf. Giovanni Lista, ''Le Futurisme : création et avant-garde'', Éditions L'Amateur, Paris, 2001. Another work of profound intensity was Melli's last, dramatic self-portrait, painted the same month of his death and currently kept at the Portrait Gallery of

Palazzo Pitti The Palazzo Pitti (), in English sometimes called the Pitti Palace, is a vast, mainly Renaissance, palace in Florence, Italy. It is situated on the south side of the River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio. The core of the present ...

, in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

. Important also are his writings, such as his collection of poems, ''Lunga favolosa notte (The Fabulous Long Night)'' of 1957.

Permanent exhibitions

* Gallery of Modern Art in

in Rome * '' Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Filippo de Pisis'' in

References

Bibliography

*Cinzia Martini, "Roberto Melli (1885–1958) – L'artista moderno dei valori tonali. Il critico scomodo della coerenza artistica", Preface by Carlo Busiri Vici (volume with CD incl. complete critical catalogue), MMC Edizioni, 2004. *Roberto Melli, ''Catalogo della mostra'', G. Appella & M. Calvesi (eds),

Macerata Macerata () is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy, the county seat of the province of Macerata in the Marche region. It has a population of about 41,564. History The historical city centre is on a hill between the Chienti and Potenza (ri ...

, 1992 (with bibliography). * – , ''Poesie: Lunga favolosa notte (Poems: The Fabulous Long Night)'', Editore De Luca, 1957. *Alfredo Accatino, ''La veglia del sognatore: poesie e divagazioni di e su Roberto Melli: A 30 anni dalla morte'',

Sapienza University of Rome The Sapienza University of Rome (), formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", abbreviated simply as Sapienza ('Wisdom'), is a Public university, public research university located in Rome, Italy. It was founded in 1303 and is ...

, 1988.

External links