Beauty is a central concept in the Italian cultural imagination throughout its history and in virtually all its manifestations. It particularly permeates the domains that have governed the construction of Italian identity: literature and language. The Idea of Beauty in Italian Literature and Language assesses this long tradition in a series of essays covering a wide chronological and thematic range, while crossing from historical linguistics to literary and cultural studies. It offers elements for reflection on cross-disciplinary approaches in the humanities, and demonstrates the power of beauty as a fundamental category beyond aesthetics.

Alongside artists such as Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko, Richard Pousette-Dart (1916–1992) was one of the most important pioneers of Abstract Expressionism. Sixty outstanding works from all creative phases allow us to immerse ourselves in the colourful and multifaceted oeuvre of this remarkable artist.

The American avant-garde movement of Abstract Expressionism radically changed the course of modern painting. Like many of his fellow artists, Pousette-Dart was intensely preoccupied with themes such as myth, spirituality, and the archaic. His light-flooded works often evoke ideas of transcendental force through motifs reminiscent of the firmament or the charged energy of celestial bodies. This opulent volume impressively presents Pousette-Dart’s art as a poetry of light.