Collection: Franco Angeli

Franco Angeli (Rome, May 14, 1935 – Rome, November 12, 1988) was one of the most emblematic and intense artists of the Italian scene in the second half of the twentieth century. Self-taught, raised in a working-class environment marked by war, Angeli transformed his private and social experiences into a powerful, political, and poetic pictorial language.

After a difficult childhood and an adolescence marked by manual labor—first as an upholsterer, then as a decorator—he came into contact, in the late 1950s, with the Roman art world, frequenting Edgardo Mannucci's studio and, later, the circle of artists around Via Margutta and Piazza del Popolo. In this context, he formed close ties with Mario Schifano, Tano Festa, Giosetta Fioroni, Renato Mambor, Cesare Tacchi, and the critic Pierre Restany.

His early works were influenced by Art Informel and American Abstract Expressionism, but by the early 1960s his language had become personal and recognizable: angels, eagles, hammers and sickles, and swastikas, emblems of power and history, stand out against hazy, almost spiritual backgrounds. His canvases speak of war, politics, and memory, amid images of Empire, ideologies, monuments, and ruins. With an aesthetic of fragmentation and symbolism, Angeli constructed an original visual lexicon, deeply rooted in the present and in civic consciousness.

Though often associated with Italian Pop Art, Angeli stands out for a more tragic and reflective dimension. His art is deeply committed, yet never didactic: symbols are never simply denunciations, but also poetic tools, evocations, and questions. His works don't assert, but suggest.

In the 1970s, Angeli expanded his research, exploring themes related to ancient history and spirituality, while his painting became more material and gestural. In the 1980s, during a period marked by fragility and introspection, he continued to produce intensely, moving towards a more intimate, evocative, and autobiographical style of painting.

Franco Angeli died at just 53 in 1988, leaving behind a vast, coherent body of work, deeply rooted in its time, yet still relevant today. His artistic legacy continues to be rediscovered and reevaluated, both by critics and collectors.