ROME.- Beginning December 12, Rome will pay homage to one of the most groundbreaking Italian artists of the 20th century, Titina Maselli (1924–2005), with a major retrospective spread across two venues: the Casino dei Principi at the Museums of Villa Torlonia and the MLAC – Museo Laboratorio di Arte Contemporanea at Sapienza University of Rome. Timed to commemorate the centenary of her birth, this extensive exhibition, on view until April 21, 2025, brings together approximately 100 works—some rarely seen or not publicly displayed in decades—offering a fresh, in-depth look at an artist whose career straddled multiple styles, movements, and cultural milieus.
Supported by Roma Capitale, the Department of Culture – Capitoline Superintendency for Cultural Heritage, in collaboration with Sapienza University, the Titina Maselli Archive, and the National Committee for the Celebrations of the Centenary of Maselli’s Birth, the retrospective seeks to reintroduce Maselli’s unique vision to a contemporary audience. Organized and managed by Zètema Progetto Cultura, the project is the culmination of years of research and study led by the Capitoline Superintendency, which has focused on highlighting significant women artists active in the 20th century, especially those represented in Rome’s civic art collections.
Maselli’s work eludes easy categorization. Born into a vibrant intellectual and artistic environment—her father was art critic Ercole Maselli, and her brother, Francesco “Citto” Maselli, became a noted film director—she rapidly developed a distinctive approach to painting. Influenced initially by the Roman School, she turned her gaze toward Futurism’s dynamic energy, then moved beyond any single movement. In her canvases, one can sense the prelude to Pop Art’s embrace of urban imagery, industrial detritus, and modern spectacle—yet she never adhered strictly to any one style. Instead, Maselli constantly explored how to capture the character and pulse of modernity itself.
Her early efforts in the late 1940s and ’50s focused on bustling cityscapes—skyscrapers, neon-lit streets, urban panoramas glimpsed at night—that were radical for their time. These works often blended a Futurist-inspired dynamism with the hard-edged realism and subtle abstraction that would later inform American postwar painting. Maselli’s still lifes of discarded materials and ordinary objects signaled a new direction in Italian painting, inspiring younger generations of artists. Over the decades, she participated in several editions of the Roman Quadrennial and the Venice Biennale, and her renown spread internationally, particularly in France, where her dual role as painter and theatrical set and costume designer won her admiration.
This exhibition places equal emphasis on Maselli’s life and artistic dialogues. Writers like Corrado Alvaro, Alberto Moravia, and Jacques Dupin, as well as prominent art historians and critics such as Renato Barilli, Enrico Crispolti, and Achille Bonito Oliva, all engaged deeply with her work. Even film directors like Michelangelo Antonioni took note of the singular power of her imagery. Friendships with fellow artists—Lorenzo Tornabuoni, Renzo Vespignani, and Gilles Aillaud—enriched her practice and informed the cosmopolitan perspective she brought to her craft. Yet, despite such a distinguished circle of admirers, there is still much critical ground to cover. This retrospective aims to stimulate fresh scholarship, fostering a more comprehensive understanding of Maselli’s legacy.
The exhibition’s layout divides Maselli’s oeuvre into key thematic and stylistic groups. At the Casino dei Principi, the focus falls primarily on the artist’s formative decades—the 1940s and ’50s—while offering glimpses into later themes that persisted through the 2000s. Visitors here can discover her early urban perspectives and the shimmering cityscapes that first established her reputation. In contrast, the MLAC hosts a selection of her larger-scale works from the 1960s onward, including pieces connected to her prolific career designing theater sets and costumes. Archival documents, sketches, and rare stage photographs by Monica Biancardi round out the story, revealing Maselli’s multifaceted engagement with performance and the visual arts. Many of these materials have been restored especially for this exhibition by Barbara Bessi, the artist’s last collaborator.
Public collections have lent key works, including the Museo Galleria del Premio Suzzara (Mantua), the Museo del Novecento in Florence, and the Civic Museums of Macerata’s Palazzo Buonaccorsi. Paintings and archival materials from the Rome civic collections—such as those held by MACRO, the Casa Museo Alberto Moravia, the CRDAV (Centro Ricerche Documentazione Arti Visive), and the Galleria d’Arte Moderna—have also been brought together, supplemented by pieces from private lenders and the Toti Scialoja Foundation.
Complementing the exhibition, a comprehensive catalog published by Electa includes scholarly essays, a rich pictorial apparatus, and, for the first time, the near-complete collection of interviews and presentations dedicated to Maselli. This volume also offers an updated biography, bibliography, and a detailed index of her theatrical sets and costumes.
In keeping with the Capitoline Superintendency’s efforts to make art accessible to all, the exhibition offers an inclusive visitor experience. Audio commentaries, tactile reproductions of select works, and guided tactile-sensory tours ensure that guests with visual impairments can engage fully with Maselli’s art.
Born in Rome on April 11, 1924, Titina Maselli grew up immersed in a milieu of writers, artists, and intellectuals. She made her mark at age 24 with her first solo exhibition at Galleria L’Obelisco in Rome and continued to evolve her distinct style during formative stints in Paris, New York, and later in Austria. Returning to Rome in the 1960s, she shifted toward cooler, more minimalist compositions, anticipating aspects of Pop Art and focusing increasingly on figures in motion—boxers, soccer players—capturing the drama and energy of human activity. Until her death in 2005, Maselli remained a restless innovator, bridging painting and stage design, abstraction and representation, the local and the global. This centenary retrospective, spread across two of Rome’s cultural venues, finally gives her the sweeping tribute she deserves, inviting a reevaluation of one of Italy’s most singular modern masters.
