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Gastone Novelli (Italian, 1925–1968)
LOT ID: 71891
Alphabet Painting, 1957

Ink Wash / Sumi-e, Acrylic, on paper
20.5 х 13.25 in. cm.
Signed, and dated in ink, lower margin recto.
Lot description
The works of Italian Abstract painter Gastone Novelli (1925-1968) were ahead of their time, standing on their own within the realm of Abstract and Abstract Expressionist paintings of the 1950s. The paintings resemble contemporary graffiti, yet are soft and dynamic in nature.

It was not until 2001, years after the artist's death, that details about his life emerged that inform the interpretation of his work. In"Austerlitz," a book written by established writers Claude Simon and W.G. Sebald, it is revealed that Novelli was a survivor of the Holocaust and he began painting after returning to Italy from Brazil, where he fled as a result of the traumatizing effects of his imprisonment: "His main subject, depicted again and again in different forms and compositions. . .was the letter A. . .in ranks of scarcely legible ciphers. . .rising and falling in waves like a long-drawn-out scream."
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Alphabet Painting by Gastone Novelli
  • Alphabet Painting by Gastone Novelli
  • Alphabet Painting by Gastone Novelli
  • Alphabet Painting by Gastone Novelli
  • Alphabet Painting by Gastone Novelli
  • Alphabet Painting by Gastone Novelli
  • Alphabet Painting by Gastone Novelli
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  • Gastone Novelli

    Perché non se ne parli più
    mixed media w/oil, paint and pen and ink on canvas
    (H 11.8, W 9.8) in.
    (30 x 25) cm.
    Sold for: US$9,807
    Saturday, April 28, 2012
    Ketterer Kunst München
    Lot 00796
  • Gastone Novelli

    Senza titolo
    mixed media on paper
    (H 19.6, W 23.9) in.
    (49.8 x 60.7) cm.
    Sold for: US$16,079
    Friday, May 28, 2010
    Farsetti Arte
    Lot 00546
  • Gastone Novelli

    Analisi di un paesaggio
    pencil, charcoal, ink and collage on paper
    (H 19.7, W 27.6) in.
    (50 x 70) cm.
    Sold for: US$9,454
    Thursday, November 26, 2009
    Sotheby's Milan
    Lot 00154
  • Gastone Novelli

    Senza titolo
    mixed media on paper
    (H 18.5, W 25.6) in.
    (47 x 65) cm.
    Sold for: US$10,111
    Tuesday, November 24, 2009
    Christie's Rome
    Lot 00101

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