René Magritte | The Blank Signature, 1965

"Everything that is visible hides something that is invisible" - René Magritte

In The Blank Signature, René Magritte (Belgian surrealist artist, 1898-1967) does what he does best: he takes our familiar world, breaks it into pieces, and then reassembles it…

As one of the leading figures of the surrealist movement in 1920s Paris, Magritte's approach mirrors one of the group’s fundamental principles.

The surrealist manifesto, a multi-page written declaration drawn up by André Breton in 1924, states their aim was to "liberate the mind by subverting rational thought and giving free reign to the unconscious".

René Magritte | The Blank Signature, 1965 | National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.

Pablo Neruda | Quando i genitori invecchiano / When parents get old

Quando i genitori invecchiano...

Lasciateli invecchiare con lo stesso amore con cui vi hanno fatto crescere...

Lasciateli parlare e raccontare più volte le stesse storie, con la stessa pazienza e interesse con cui ascoltavano le vostre quando eravate bambini...

Luigi Nono | La nonna che rammenda il calzone al nipotino

Salvatore Quasimodo | Ed è subito sera / And it's suddenly evening, 1930

Ed è subito sera è una poesia di Salvatore Quasimodo.

Si tratta di uno tra i componimenti più brevi e più famosi del poeta siciliano e più in generale della corrente ermetica.

Originariamente gli intensi versi liberi di questa breve poesia costituivano la terzina finale di una poesia più lunga intitolata Solitudini contenuta in Acque e terre, la prima raccolta di poesie dell'autore pubblicata nel 1930, comprendente le liriche scritte dal poeta dal 1920 al 1929 (alcune delle quali erano già apparse sulla rivista Solaria).

Una raccolta che rappresenta, insieme con Oboe sommerso, la fase del primo Quasimodo.

Tagliando i diciannove versi iniziali di Solitudini, Quasimodo ne estrasse successivamente i tre versi di Ed è subito sera, che è la poesia di apertura della raccolta omonima (pubblicata nel 1942)

René Magritte | Le Banquet, 1955-57 | Sotheby's

Salvatore Quasimodo | Solitudini

Una sera: nebbia, vento,

mi pensai solo: io e il buio.

Norman Rockwell | Picasso vs. Sargent, 1966

Picasso vs. Sargent was created in 1966 by Norman Rockwell (American painter and illustrator, 1894-1978) for the January 11, 1966 edition of the LOOK magazine.

It is part of the collection of the National Museum of American Illustration.

Norman Rockwell left the Saturday Evening Post in 1963 and his paintings took a more political turn.

He spent the last decade of his life creating works that dealt with issues such as civil rights and the fight against poverty.

From 1964 Rockwell went on to create work for LOOK Magazine.

Norman Rockwell | Picasso vs. Sargent, 1966 | National Museum of American Illustration

Iban Barrenetxea, 1973 | Fantasy writer / illustrator

Iban Barrenetxea is a Spanish graphic designer and writer.

Iban lets his imagination run lose in his work, and creates hilarious and fantastic scenes overflowing with unique details and characters.

Iban Barrenetxea is one of the most internationally-acclaimed illustrators and authors in the field of children’s and young adult literature in Spain.

He has received numerous awards and has exhibited in Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom, Portugal and Japan and his books have been translated into several languages: French, Russian, Japanese and Korean.

Pellizza da Volpedo | Spring Idyll / Girotondo, 1906

"Spring Idyll" is an oil on canvas created in 1906 by Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo (Italian Neo-Impressionist painter, 1868-1907).

The painting, measuring Ø 101 cm, is part of the collection of the GAM - Galleria d'Arte Moderna in Milan.

This is the second version - left incomplete by Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo and then finished by the painter Angelo Barabino (1883-1950) - of another canvas that was long considered lost and then reappeared for auction at Sotheby's in London in 1980, having been kept in a private collection in England for almost 40 years.

Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo | Idillio campestre nei prati della pieve a Volpedo (Il girotondo), 1906 | GAM - Galleria d'Arte Moderna di Milano

Sibilla Aleramo | Son tanto brava / I'm so good..

Sibilla Aleramo (born Marta Felicina Faccio; 14 August 1876 - 13 January 1960) was an Italian feminist writer and poet known for her autobiographical depictions of life as a woman in late 19th century Italy.

I am so good all day long.

I understand, I accept, I do not weep.

I almost learn to be proud as if I were a man.

But, at the first quiver of violet in the sky

all daytime strength vanishes.

Man Ray | A l'heure de l'observatoire, les Amoureux, 1970

Giuseppe Molteni | Romantic painter

Giuseppe Molteni (1800-1867) was an Italian painter.

Forced to abandon his studies at the Brera Academy for financial reasons, Molteni took up the restoration of ancient paintings as a pupil of Giuseppe Guizzardi in Bologna.

On his return to Milan, he soon became one of the most sought-after restorers of the day, a consultant to the Louvre and the British Museum as well as the leading collectors and connoisseurs in Milan and Europe as a whole.