Fra Noi Embrace Your Inner Italian
Phenomenal Nativity
The Art Institute of Chicago’s spectacular Neapolitan Nativity will be available for viewing through Jan. 6. The display contains more than 200 painted terra cotta figures staged in an elaborate environment inspired by 18th-century Naples. Made by a range of artists from the 1700s through the 1800s, the Nativity was first collected by Vincenzo Porcini, an art dealer in Naples, who then hired Alfredo Laino, a specialist in Neapolitan crèche scenography, to design and construct the detailed setting. Due to the fragility of the original silk costumes and exquisite embroidery, the Art Institute’s crèche can only be on view for a few weeks every year. To buy tickets, click here.
Well-chosen words
The imaginative works of Italian illustrator and cartoonist Fabio Magnasciutti will be showcased through Dec. 20 at the Italian Cultural Institute in Chicago. “Magnasciutti’s illustrations oscillate between deep emotional engagement and, at times, irreverent irony, offering glimpses of everyday life,” the Institute explains on its website. “In this selection of works, words and images become inseparable parts of a narrative … capable of speaking to the audience beyond the limits of strictly verbal communication.” Born in Rome, Magnasciutti has numerous books to his credit and has collaborated with some of Italy’s most prominent publications. For more, visit iicchicago.esteri.it/en/ and search for Magnasciutti. For more, click here.
Giving tree
A pair of Italian Americans teamed up with several other local artists to transform the remains of a 200-year-old elm tree into a work of art. Rising up from the grounds of Ragdale in Lake Forest, “Diversity of Birds” was created by Jyl Bonaguro and Mia Capodilupo and fellow artists Margot McMahon, Anthony Heinz May, Nicole Beck, Julia Sulmasy, and Fredy Hauman Mallqui. Located at 1260 N. Green Bay Road, Ragdale is an artist residency program and community (ragdale.org). The Ragdale Tree Project was spearheaded by Chicago Sculpture International (chicagosculpture.org). The CSI has collaborated with the Chicago Park District to create more than 50 public sculptures from dead and dying trees. For more about Chicago Sculpture International, click here. For more about The Ragdale Tree Project, click here.
Sumptuous showcase
European history buffs will have a field day at the Art Institute of Chicago’s Deering Family Galleries of Medieval and Renaissance Art, Arms and Armor. Unveiled in 2017, the expansive exhibit showcases nearly 700 objects from the museum’s rich holdings of art from 1200 to 1600 as well as an extensive arms and armor collection. Among the Italian items on display are a terra-cotta altarpiece by Florentine Benedetto Buglioni, works of art for the bedchambers of Tuscany’s merchant elite, and a tempera-on-panel diptych of the Virgin and Child Enthroned and the Crucifixion (pictured). For more, click here.
Several of these look very interesting. Thanks for sending.