Mino Maccari biography

Mino Maccari was an Italian painter, engraver, and writer. A multifaceted and influential figure in the Italian artistic and literary scene, he was born in Siena in 1898, into a family of the small Sienese bourgeoisie. From a young age, he demonstrated a lively intelligence and a propensity for drawing, preferring the use of charcoal. However, at his father's insistence, a professor of literature, he pursued traditional studies, graduating in law in 1920. During his university years, Mino Maccari stood out for his rebellious and interventionist spirit, participating as an artillery officer in the First World War.
At the end of the conflict, he resumed his studies in Siena and began working as a trainee at lawyer Dini's office in Colle di Val d'Elsa. In his free time from work, however, Mino Maccari devoted himself to his true passion: painting. His restless and polemical spirit reflected the equally tumultuous period of Italian history, the post-World War I era. Mino Maccari distinguished himself both for his participation in social clashes and as a prominent figure during the March on Rome in 1922.
In 1924, Angiolo Bencini tasked him with overseeing the publication of the magazine Il Selvaggio, a fascist, revolutionary, and anti-bourgeois newspaper, where he published his first engravings. In 1926, he permanently abandoned the legal profession to take on the direction of Il Selvaggio, which he held until 1942. Il Selvaggio initially promoted an uncompromising fascism aimed at overthrowing the old bourgeois state. However, when Mino Maccari realized Mussolini's intention to promote the normalization of fascism, the magazine changed course, focusing more on cultural grounds. Marking this transition, Maccari wrote an article titled Farewell to the Past, which outlined the new direction of Il Selvaggio: a commitment to art, satire, and political laughter, following a popular and seemingly mocking tradition, but in reality subtly cultured.
In parallel with directing the newspaper, Mino Maccari continues to pursue his artistic career. He participates in several national exhibitions between 1927 and 1930, establishing himself as a painter appreciated by the general public. In the following years, his collaborations extend to other important Italian magazines such as La Stampa, Quadrivio, Italia Letteraria, and Omnibus.
In the post-war period, he continues to achieve success and recognition for his artistic artwork, rich in bold brushstrokes, vibrant chromatic accents, and a lively graphic style. His artistic production is vast and varied, including drawings, watercolors, tempera paintings, and collaborations with prestigious publishing houses. In 1963, he wins the Feltrinelli Prize for Painting and, ten years later, is the first to receive the Political Satire Award of Forte dei Marmi.
Despite his success, Mino Maccari dies quietly and without fanfare in Rome in 1989, at the age of 90. His life and his artwork remain a remarkable example of an artist who navigated against the current, experimenting and innovating through different forms of artistic expression. His works continue to be appreciated for their vibrancy and their ability to capture, with a documentary flair, the various aspects of Italian reality.