Luigi Pericle : A Rediscovery

This important book presents the work of the fascinating and singular artist LuigiPericle (1916–2001). Pericle was a painter, illustrator and scholar, as well as aleading figure in the story of art in the second half of the twentieth century.The artist initially found fame as an illustrator, gaining widespread renown in the1950s as the inventor of the character Max the Marmot. But his intense, enigmaticand multi-layered paintings increasingly drew the attention of the art world, withworks that reflect his personal, metaphysical take on post-war abstraction exhibitedat numerous venues in Britain during the 1960s. Pericle then abruptly retreatedfrom the art system, and for the rest of his life continued to paint, write and tostudy esoteric philosophy in the secluded house he shared with his wife Orsolina onMonte Verità in the Ticino region of Switzerland. The artist’s work was dramaticallyrediscovered in 2016 when the contents of his former residence were revealed.The process of restoring, cataloguing and researching his vast oeuvre is ongoing,and is overseen by Ascona’s Archivio Luigi Pericle, with which the exhibition hasbeen organised.This beautifully illustrated publication, which accompanies an exhibition at theEstorick Collection, London, includes a full catalogue of the works, as well as essaysby noted scholars.