Fortunato Depero: Carnival of Colour

Fortunato Depero (1892-1960) , artist and designer, was welcomed into the Italian futurist movement when he had reached only his early twenties, and was to become one of its major theoreticians and protagonists. His style, whether in painting, theatre design or graphic design, was always distinctive - an immediacy and vibrancy through the use of clearly defined forms and strong colours that has an instant visual appeal - a carnival of colour.This book has been designed to show Depero's work to best effect, allowing its visual effects full rein through its presentation. Roberta Cremoncini's text guides the reader through the different elements of Depero's work. We see him as Futurist theoretician, as painter, as craftsman and as graphic designer. Finally, the author describes his two attempts to establish himself in America: both were to fail, yet they have left us with much of his best design work in the form of striking covers for Vogue and Vanity fair, and with complex and dramatic paintings incorporating American imagery.