Il Borghese e le arti visive negli anni di Longanesi (1950-1957)

Scholarly studies on the role of the multifaceted figure of Longanesi in the field of illustrated publishing have privi- leged the experiences of Il Selvaggio (approximately 1924- 1933) and Omnibus (1937-1939). Less investigated is his time at the head of Il Borghese, a magazine that Longanesi founded in 1950 and directed until his death with a policy of privileging artist graphics, starting from the cover. The contribution investigates the editorial choices regarding visual arts and the role played by the artists, first of all his friend Alberto Savinio, in the figuration of the periodical, with the aim of confirming the strategic and independent role of the image, in the latest editorial product conceived by the intellectual. A specific analysis will be dedicated to the iconographic and formal solutions of the years from 1950 to 1955, in which both graphic works by protagonists of the international artistic scene between the end of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century were published (Munch, Toulouse-Lautrec, Chagall), and those of contemporary illustrators and designers (Steinberg), along- side color photography.