It can be difficult to choose the proper image to wish everybody a joyful and stylish year, but I must admit that this time it was pretty easy. This year's opening image is an illustration by Titina Rota (1899 - 1978).
Born into a "musical" family - her maternal grandfather was the composer Giovanni Rinaldi and her cousin was Nino Rota - young volinist Titina had many famous friends, including Igor Stravinsky and Gabriele D’Annunzio (the latter was an admirer of her illustrations). In her early twenties she worked as window dresser and illustrator and then started working as costume designer in Milan.
From 1931 she created iconic sets and costumes at La Scala where she introduced a new way of working: up until then costumes were often hired, but, from then on, a dedicated costume workshop was established. The latter produced made to measure garments for the performers of operas and theatrical pieces. Rota also contributed with her costumes to films such as Mario Camerini's and directed in 1942 the weekly magazine Grazia for one year. From the late '40s on, Rota mainly dedicated herself to painting.
Rota's style was very much influenced by Art Deco as this illustration for Il favorito del re (The King's Favourite, first performed at la Scala in March 1932) proves. This work was a burlesque in three acts inspired by a story from the One Thousand and One Nights, with music by Antonio Veretti, a libretto by Arturo Rossato and costume designer Caramba (mentioned in previous posts here and there) as consultant. Hope you will find this elegant illustration inspiring. Happy New Year!
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