Luzzati, an Art Elf in a fairy-tale

Matteo Fochessati

Lele Luzzati's illustrations for the covers of the Municipality's magazine “Genova” and for the theatrical periodical “Il Dramma”, edited by Luciano Ridenti, as well as his graphic projects for books and records are rooted in the lively research climate in post-war Genoa. They also confirm Lele Luzzati’s multifaceted and inexhaustible creative streak, who was one of the main protagonists of that intense artistic period.

For the play The Merry Wives of Windsor, staged in the Parks of Nervi in 1949, Luzzati designed not only the sets and costumes but also the cover for the programme, which evokes the beginnings of his collaboration with MITA, founded in 1926 by the brilliant entrepreneur Mario Alberto Ponis, with whom Luzzati established an intense artistic partnership. The style and layout of this illustration are reminiscent of the freshness and freedom of expression of his drawings for MITA fabrics. They also remind of the fairy-tale dimension of the large panel depicting a “romantic choreography” commissioned to Luzzati in the same year by Gustavo Pulitzer Finali for the First Class Reading and Writing Room on board of the ocean liner Conte Biancamano.

And it was because of his many creations - tapestries, printed fabrics, panels and scarves - for the Nervi-based factory that Luzzati came into contact with the naval architect from Trieste who, having recently moved to Genoa, also commissioned him with the decoration of a mural in his house-studio in Palazzo Balbi Senarega, now the seat of the School of Human Sciences. In the same years, Luzzati, in collaboration with Alessandro Fersen, designed the sets and costumes for several important plays of the Jewish Theatre Company, and also illustrated its promotional posters. Many of his graphic creations also originate from the traditional Jewish imaginary world, especially when illustrating children's books, as evidenced by his collaboration on Israel dei Bambini, published by Giuntina, Florence.

Still with reference to the theatre, we cannot fail to mention the 1958 poster for La borsa di Arlecchino, one of the most interesting entertainment experiments in Genoa at the time. Equally significant was his collaboration as a set designer with the Compagnia dei Quattro. For their shows he created several posters characterised by extraordinary verbal-visual compositions: a graphic approach that also characterised his subsequent theatre posters.
His creative path culminated with the plastic and incisive flame-red dominant of the poster for Alfred Jarry's Ubu Roi, staged in 1975 at the Teatro della Tosse and directed by Tonino Conte.
Luzzati often claimed that his main profession was as a set designer - as a matter of fact he liked to define himself simply as a craftsman. And yet, his graphic activity was not limited to posters for the promotion of theatre shows. In every field of his comprehensive artistic production, he was able to feed his creativity with highly expressive ideas, stimulating his peculiar inclination to propose his magical and enchanted artistic universe in endless thematic variations.
Thus, alongside posters, illustrated books and record covers, he signed art editions, advertising boards, playing cards and tarot cards, calendars and invitation cards. Even the smallest corner of the world touched upon by Luzzati was being transformed by his creativity. Like an Art Elf in a fairy-tale, he could impose light and colour on everything, with a gesture.

back to index