In punta di matita. L'arte di frate Menotti

From April 18 to May 5, 2025, the evocative art exhibition “In punta di matita. L’arte di frate Menotti” will be available for viewing at the San Nicola Hall of the Bari Chamber of Commerce. The exhibition is organized by the Association of Drummers Militia Sancti Nicolai in collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce and the Sagarriga Visconti National Library of Bari, on the occasion of the centenary of the death of Frate Menotti, a famous Bari artist and caricaturist. Curated by Nicola Cortone, Nunzio Giorgio, and Sabino Scianatico, the exhibition will showcase 40 precious lithographs from the private collection of Sabino Scianatico, owner of the historic Barium bookstore. The exhibition provides an opportunity to admire and delve into an important period of Menotti's artistic production, connected to various political and cultural vicissitudes of Bari life and the South of Italy, from the late 19th to the early 20th century. A valuable catalog (Edizioni di Pagina, €20) was created for the exhibition, curated by Nicola Cortone, a connoisseur of local art and history, by Francesco Quarto, former librarian of the National Library of Bari, and by Giulia Perrino, art historian. The volume illustrates all 114 plates of the Scianatico collection. The exhibition was made possible with contributions from CMI srl (Molfetta), Amgas e luce srl (Bari), Magicaterra (Bari), and Aps Martinus (Bari).

The exhibition will be inaugurated on Friday, April 18, at 10:00 a.m., in the presence of Lucia di Bisceglie, president of the Bari Chamber of Commerce, Antonietta De Felice, director of the National Library of Bari, and the authors and curators of the exhibition and catalog.

The exhibition will be open from April 18 to May 5, from Monday to Friday (9:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.) and on Monday and Thursday afternoons (3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.). Free admission.

Vittorio Amedeo Menotti Bianchi (known as Frate Menotti) was born in Bari in 1863 and died there in 1924. His artistic production consists of over two thousand plates, mostly painted in watercolor. These drawings were intended to become lithographs for publication in Bari's satirical newspapers and sometimes exhibited at the Laterza bookstore to be purchased by private citizens—possibly the very individuals "caricatured" by "Frate." Figures from the economic-political world of Bari, as well as common people of varying social standings, were captured by the artist's keen and attentive eye. This artistic and cultural heritage is preserved with great care in the "Menotti" collection at the National Library of Bari.
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