The foundation’s archives preserve a rich collection of various materials that is constantly being expanded and updated. It constitutes an invaluable tool for research around the artist. Starting from the nucleus of volumes, documents, photographs, and articles preserved by Lucio Fontana, over the years the foundation has collected materials that have been fundamental in reconstructing the artist’s biography, exhibition history, and critical fortune. These precious fonds are available to scholars.
The library includes more than 1,200 volumes dated from the 1920s to the present day. It is a specialized library that shelves catalogs of solo and group exhibitions, essays, monographs, and books dedicated to the artist in different languages, as well as artist’s books and books illustrated by Lucio Fontana.
The documentary archive preserves fundamental materials related to Fontana’s activity. These include brochures, pamphlets, invitations, and posters of monographic and group exhibitions, from the 1920s to the present, as well as a rich collection of press reviews and magazines, that includes critical articles, both historical and more recent, from around the world. In addition, the archive preserves an important collection of letters, writings, and historical documents of various types, an essential resource for the reconstruction of Fontana’s biographical and artistic story.
The photographic archive collects photographs of exhibitions, openings and events, as well as personal unpublished photographs, and famous reports or portraits of the artist by photographers such as Ugo Mulas, Giancolombo, Shunk&Kender, Jean Ferrero, Paolo Monti, and many others. This archive also includes the very rich nucleus of photos of Lucio Fontana’s works, collected over the years and necessary for the cataloging and archiving activities of the works, which is continuously being expanded.
The library and archival materials are available for consultation by scholars upon request and appointment. Copyright-free photographs may be purchased in high resolution for publications pertaining to the visual arts.
Lucio Fontana working in his studio, Milan, 1967. Photo by Giancolombo
Lucio Fontana with a ceramic sculpture, Milan, 1963. Photo by Ugo Mulas. © Ugo Mulas Heirs. All rights reserved
Works in Lucio Fontana’s studio, Milan, 1962. Photo by Ugo Mulas. © Ugo Mulas Heirs. All rights reserved