Magic Realism was one of the primary movements in Italian art in the 1920s and 1930s. It brought a magical sense of unreality to the depiction of even the most everyday motifs. It shows us the world as it is while adding to it new, strange and dreamlike layers.

Key artists of Magic Realism are Felice Casorati, Antonio Donghi, Cagnaccio di San Pietro, Gino Severini, Ubaldo Oppi, Achille Funi and Carlo Levi. Works of internationally famous artists Giorgio de Chirico and Carlo Carrà are emblematic of the starting points of Magic Realism, while works by artists less prominent outside Italy, such as Mario and Edita Broglio, Gian Emilio Malerba, Carlo Sbisà, Gregorio Sciltian and Cesare Sofianopulo, attest to the variety and diversity of the movement.

This book begins with a general survey of realist movements in European art in the 1920s and 1930s, written by Erkki Anttonen from the Ateneum. Essays by Italian experts Gabriella Belli and Valerio Terraroli shed light on Magic Realism in Italy, its roots, its development and its aesthetics.

The book also includes short biographies of all 32 artists featured in the exhibition at the Ateneum Art Museum.

The volume includes about 45 plates of artworks.

Languages: Finnish, Swedish, English.