EXTRACTS: Drawing from History: The Forgotten Art of Fortunino Matania © The Book Palace (340 PAGES in Full edition)

Drawing from History 236 A careful study of the technique, methods and personality of Fortunino Matania, the Sphere’s principal staff artist, leaves one outstanding impression – the reliance which Matania places on the faculty of memory and the miraculous results achieved by its development. You ask where he gets his knowledge of horses, for he draws these animals brilliantly. He “remembers” them. Where does he get his models for those most convincing figures who appear in the Sphere’s pages? He has no models – he seldom if ever, uses them – he “remembers”. That detail of uniform, that gun breech, the difficult foreshortening of that horse’s head, the sensitive drawing of those clasped hands – from life, or the object itself, of course? No; he “remembers”. Fortunino Matania started his artistic career as a juvenile prodigy, doing topical; illustration for the leading paper in Italy when he was not quite thirteen. He remains a prodigy – namely the greatest wonder in pictorial journalism. Though he has chiefly concentrated on war subjects during the last four years or so, he had, for ten years previously, in the Sphere and elsewhere, tackled an infinite variety of subjects- every type of episode, social and political, humorous and tragic, in any corner of the globe, which it was necessary to cover in illustrating the “News of the Day”. His methods are shown and explained with absolute clearness in “The Art of the Illustrator” by means of a series of reproductions of “ A Belgian Barricade” in various stages, and fully descriptive letterpress accompanying them. Percy V. Bradshaw (The Press Art School, Forest Hill, London SE23) 1920 F. Matania writes “I was charmed to receive your folios. It is not very often one sees an artistic publication carried out with so much “buon gusto”, both from an editorial and literary point of view. “The Art of the Illustrator” will be delightful reading for me. Through your pen one is able to penetrate into studios, and follow the artist’s hand from the beginning to the end of his work. I am charmed by your publication, and proud of being amongst such an attractive selection of names. With my congratulations.” The 20 artist folios in the set comprised: Lawson Wood, W. Russell Flint, Harry Rountree, Dudley Hardy, Heath Robinson, H.M. Bateman, Fortunino Matania, Louise Wright, Cyrus Cuneo, Frank Reynolds, W. Haterall, Balliol Salmon, Bert Thomas, Spenser Pryce, Charles E. Brock, F.H. Townsend, Claude Shepperson, Bernard Partridge and E.J. Sullivan.