Madonna and the art of Fabrizio Clerici

If you happen to go to Italy, maybe for your summer holidays, we would like to draw your attention to an Art
exhibition hosted at the
“Convent of the Carmine” in Marsala, to celebrate artist Fabrizio Clerici (1913-1993),
“painter of fantastic archaeology, considered the visionary
Italian artist of the 1900’s”.

In an article published by Repubblica.it, Queen of pop Madonna is also mentioned
as one of the artists who appreciate Clerici’s paintings and was inspired by them in her work as well as Jean Paul Gaultier. Madonna was inspired by
the work of Clerici for the famous Blond Ambition Tour and her video for the song “Bedtime story“.

What follows is excerpt from the article from La Republica. We invite our Italian readers to read it in full on their website.

“It happened one day of 1990, Jean Paul Gaultier who was about to become one of the more eccentric and brilliant designers of
the fashion system, visiting the Museum of Modern Art of New York that was struck by a paint called “Duo per arp” (Pair for Arp), a
picture of one sumptuous mythical suggestion dated 1944 by Fabrizio Clerici.

Gaultier stopped to contemplate it over a long time span, it reminded him much of Paris’ surrealist photography from the 60’s. He
was literally amazed. He soon tried to get all information about this painter that he really “enjoyed a lot”!
1990 was the explosive year for the French designer also because Popstar Madonna had entrusted him the design
and the custumes of her “Blond Ambition Tour“.

And Clerici and his traces of romantic and apocalyptic genius, was what he was looking for. Gaultier gave
the Material Girl, for one scene of the concert, the most secret reinterpretation of that Italian Art, in the history of costume and
fashion, “Solo for ARPA“, citing a work of 1946.

Because of Gaultier passion Madonna fell in love as well with that exuberant Italian who painted
pastiches full of fantasy and imaginery of forfeitures antiquarianisms, between the grand Roman archaeology and orientalism that evoke
parallel universes.

And four years later, writing the screenplay for the video of the song “Bedtime story“, Madonna
evokes the eye of Horus from Clerici’s work. Madonna is the contemporary artist who carried
the more sensational celebration that pop world has ever offered to the
fantastic “visionary Italian Art”, paying a tribute to the iconography of Fabrizio Clerici. And while in the video
her mouth begins to spell
“Today is the last day that I’m using words“, her face looks exaclty like the one that Clerici painted in “Testimoni oculari” (Eyewitnesses) dated 1943 and again in 1946.”

From an article by la Repubblica.
Thanks to our Team member Vincy