"Sun and Moon" Lithograph#1 by Vincenzo Marano, Edition of Alchemie

This lithograph is a part of the series of Alchemical Tablets by Vincenzo Marano. It depicts the Sun and the Moon embracing each other and hiding from swimmers nearby.

Vincenzo Marano was born in Acicastello in the province of Catania on 24 August 1938. He attended the Art Institute of Catania, the richest in artists, students, and teachers in those years of all art schools.

In 1957 he left Sicily to enroll in the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome. He begins collaborative work with the newspaper l'Unità, where he publishes several drawings. At that time he met and became friends with Renato Guttuso.

In 1964 he held his first solo exhibition in Bari. At the end of the 1960s, he exhibited in Rome and again in Bari. He participated in the Quadriennial of Rome, in the USA at the traveling exhibition Print Show Young European Artist, and in Brussels at the Contemporary Italian and Belgium. In 1968 he exhibited at the prestigious Galleria Zanini in Rome.

In the decade of the 70s, he participated in various group exhibitions, the traveling exhibitions Perspectives, Art and Civil Commitment, the Design Exhibition at the Permanente in Milan, etc. He exhibits in personal exhibitions in Rome, Sicily, and Stockholm. At the end of the 70s, the history of art became more and more clear for him, an immense iconographic and emotional reservoir.

In 1985 an exhibition was held at the Palazzo dei Diamanti, presenting the artist's work over the last five years. In 1986 he created two large-scale works, the Incolpevoli, and the Fall. The two paintings are exhibited in various exhibitions, in Italy, and France.
But from this moment, from this painting, he completely turns the page as testified in a text entitled L' Alchimia A bitò i Regni del Mito. "… I began to feel the urge to observe more carefully the reasons that made me organize my painting in a certain way…." "I prefer mythology to history because history starts from reality and quickly moves toward falsehood, while mythology starts from fantasy and quickly moves toward reality."

Marano began the series of Alchemical Tablets and wrote about it.
"…in that particular moment of my life as a painter, all taken up with doubts, I wanted to turn the page looking for a new way of painting that was more congenial to my deepest needs….. Looking backward is a way to unwind, a return to the origins not polluted by the thought of man."
Through 40 small works on wood, a long series of allegorical dreams unfold. Duccio Trombadori writes about it "… they make one think of the slow meditation of a new vision of the world…".
His art is painted in the classical style though with a post-impressionist slant.

REFERENCE NUMBER: LU825825020122
PERIOD: 1980-1989
CONDITION: Good
MEASUREMENTS: Height: 22" Width: 22" Depth: 0.9"
COUNT: 1
MATERIAL: Paper, Wood
CREATOR: Vincenzo Marano
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Italy