Manzù disegnatore per le riviste e l’editoria sacra

Between 1932 and 1936 the sculptor Giacomo Manzù created a group of drawings and illustrations that were published in the Florentine Catholic magazine Il Frontespizio, directed by intellectual Piero Bargellini. His work as an illustrator also took place through the execution of the graphic works illustrating the books of prayers Preghiera per la Sposa Cristiana (1935) and Preghiere e letture (1936) and the volumes of Bargellini Architettura (1934) and David (1936). The article aims to analyze these graphic works from a historical and stylistic point of view, in order to outline Manzù’s accession to the theme of sacred art in the initial phase of his career, and the role of his iconographic choices in this period. At the same time, the essay attempts to open an inquiry on the relationship between the artist’s drawings and his sculptures, in order to trace an accurate comparison of the evolution that characterizes his work.