Ménage à Trois

Ménage à Trois is a black and white linocut on ivory-colored paper, realized in 1945 by  Mino Maccari .

Hand-signed "Jean Barbe" and numbered in pencil on the lower margin. Edition of 300 prints.

A wonderful plate from the collection  On s'amuse: 16 gravures en bois par Jean Barbe  realized by the Italian illustrator Mino Maccari and published by Documento, Rome.

This original print, representing a ménage à trois between a woman and two men, realized with Maccari's remarkable style, is in excellent conditions, with a fresh impression and an incredible mastery of this artistic technique. A white cardboard passepartout is included (49 x 34 cm).

In 1945, Mino Maccari published a folder containing 16 linoleums with a strongly erotic subject matter, titled  On s' amuse! . Because of the scandalous subject for the time, he signed with the pseudonym of Jean Barbe. The circulation is of 300 copies, 40 "before letter", numbered in Roman numerals, hand-painted by Maccari himself and signed by him "J.B."

Reference:

Francesco Meloni,  Mino Maccari: reasoned catalog of engravings . Milan: Electa, 1979.

Mino Maccari  (Siena, 1898 - Rome, 1989)

A multi-faceted artist, painter, engraver, writer and journalist. He was a leading figure in twentieth-century Italian culture. He lived and worked in contact with the major Italian artists and intellectuals of the period, such as Malaparte, Soffici, Rosai, Longanesi, Pannunzio, Morandi, and many others. He was a prolific artist, remembered above all for being the satirical illustrator of  Il Selvaggio .