Vittoria Crespi Morbio

Few players in the twentieth-century Italian cultural scenario vaunt the sheer impact, intellectual complexity, and contradictory sting of Luchino Visconti (Milan, 1906–Rome, 1976). An aristocrat and a communist, tyrant on the job, and a man mindful of social issues, Visconti was raised to a privileged existence of art, high society and horse racing, but became a committed anti-Fascist. The latter half of his life was tirelessly dedicated to an artistic renaissance that embraced theatre, opera and cinema. The three arts overlap infinitely and communicate with one another, exploring the same themes, formal solutions, and approach to work. From the arrival of neorealism with Obsession to Maria Callas’ legendary performances at La Scala, the tapestries of Senso and The Leopard, to the intimate revelations of his last films, Visconti overturned convention and broke down boundaries, achieving an extremely personal fusion whose power to fascinate and scandalize has never waned. In a critical reading, this book explores all the ramifications of his art, illustrated with a spectacular collection of images.