(Spoleto 1915–1968 Rome)
Itinerario, 1958, grès and enamel, with wood and iron base, 84 x 66 x 48 cm (with basement) 77 x 66 x 32.5 cm (without basement)

Provenance:
European Private Collection

Exhibited:
Milan, Galleria Blu, March 1960

Literature:
F. Sargentini (ed.), Bruno Sargentini al fianco degli artisti: la donazione Fabio e Grazia Sargentini, Edizioni della Cometa, Rome 2006, p. 64 with ill.
M. Di Carlo, E. Mascelloni, L. Lorenzoni, Leoncillo. Materia radicale. Opere 1958–1968, Galleria dello Scudo, Verona 2018, p. 102 with ill.

Leoncillo Leonardi (Spoleto, 1915 - Rome 1968) was rediscovered in recent years by national and international collectors. He is renowned as one of the greatest Italian sculptors of the last century and a cornerstone of Informalism. The art critic Cesare Brandi described him as "one of the three great Italian sculptors alongside Manzù and Martini".
Leoncillo was a multifaceted artist who died prematurely. First and foremost a sculptor, he was also a draughtsman, poet and ceramist.
His artistic research was guided by profound ideological and political crises that inspired his entire production, which was initially strongly linked to the Roman school and then moved towards Informalism in the mid-1950s after he distanced himself from the Communist environment.
He experienced the horror of World War II and this suffering is reflected in his melancholic sculptures made of poor materials such as clay and ceramic.
The sculpture entitled ‘Itinerario’ (Itinerary) 1958 is a mass of living, pulsating material, and of an expressionism charged with drama, almost as if it represents the artist's short life that was nonetheless profoundly aimed at leaving a mark on history.
His works are a succession of life and art, a continuous experimentation of language to capture the shattering revolution of the times he lived in the hope of giving a visible and permanent sign of change.
His work not only anticipates Informalism in sculpture but also has prophetic force, leaving an indelible imprint on fragile material such as stoneware and ceramics.
Where bronze and marble were the solid surfaces of choice used by the ancients to leave a message to posterity, Leoncillo’s choice of material is antithetical to that used by the masters of the past, but better represents the transience and corruptibility of the times.