Il teatro è arte visiva. Le premesse critiche di Toti Scialoja per una moderna concezione della scena

Abstract

Il teatro è arte visiva is an undated and unpublished text by Toti Scialoja. It has been found in the archive of the artist among other documents related to his activity of teacher at the Academy of Fine Art in Rome. The text could be seen as a proof of Scialoja’s lasting interest in the reflection on the role of the arts in the mise en scène. In particular, he started to propose his own opinion inside of Italian culture debate since the Forties. Some texts on this matter have been published between 1944 and 1946 on “Mercurio”, and in 1949 on “L’Immagine”. Considering those precedents, Il teatro è arte visiva could be considered a summa of the principles that Scialoja already expressed in those previous texts, but actualized according to new experiences, like Grotowski’s Poor Theatre. This mention suggests to propose a dating of the document subsequent the second half of the Sixties and to refer it to his experience as Professor of Scenography at the Academy of Fine Arts. It consents to highlight how he educated his students in light of the most important and innovative experimentation scenic of Avant-gardes, instilling in them the importance of considering theatre like a visual art, formally independent from the single contribution of paint, sculpture, and architecture.