Casa del Mutilato di Genova – Fondazione A.N.M.I.G., in collaboration with the Santagata Collection and with the patronage of the Ufficio Beni Culturali Ecclesiastici, presents “Prove di Fede. Antonio Giuseppe Santagata”. A carefully curated selection of works (almost entirely unpublished) will provide a deep dive into the more spiritually profound production of a great Genoese artist whose name is inextricably linked to the testimony and transmission of the horrors of war. The sense of suspension that characterizes the more psychological depictions of conflict is found in works that — created in parallel and later in life — surprise with their expression of a very personal dimension of Faith, one that is foreign to both a specific time and space.

Rough sacred images, being sketches and drawings for future projects (hence the title of the exhibition), allow for a rediscovery of the muscularity central to the artist’s work, through the lightness of garments and expressions that communicate more with an impression of the infinite than with earthly surroundings. A compromise, a nuance that generates uniqueness and at the same time familiarity, certainly also through the scenes chosen: central both to Catholic culture and to the Ligurian public art horizon, present in spaces dedicated to the care of both spirit and body (such as the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Guard and the Galliera Hospital).

Not only Liguria, the project fosters and promotes an encounter with different religious works by Santagata, presented in their definitive version in various significant cultural contexts across Italy. The painter and sculptor’s popularity, in fact, extended well beyond regional boundaries, growing in the period between the two World Wars and consolidating itself through renewed expressiveness throughout the remainder of the century. It reached full consecration in the 1980s with the acquisition of Le Oranti (1918) by the Vatican Museums – International Collection of Modern and Contemporary Art.

The exhibition, which will be open from December 3 to 13 during the regular opening hours of the venue (or by prior reservation, depending on the availability of the structure), is supported by the Presidency of Casa del Mutilato di Genova, Guido Vinacci, and curated by Matteo Lenuzza (Curator – Casa del Mutilato di Genova). It strengthens the connection between the figure of Santagata — also a war invalid — and the A.N.M.I.G., the organization for which (starting from Genoa) he was the point of reference across Italy. This is, in fact, the first solo exhibition dedicated to this figure in the spaces of what was (and still is) a key venue for narrating his professional and personal story.

While the Rooms and Hall serve as a constant reminder of Peace, the exhibition delves into a different, deeper reality — an absolute manifestation of Goodness.

Prove di Fede. Antonio Giuseppe Santagata
In collaboration with the Santagata Collection
With the patronage of the Office of Ecclesiastical Cultural Heritage

A.N.M.I.G. – Liguria: Agostino Pendola
A.N.M.I.G. – Genova Section: Guido Vinacci
Curator – Casa del Mutilato di Genova: Matteo Lenuzza

Artwork “Prove di Fede. Antonio Giuseppe Santagata”: Francesca Papasodaro,

Graphic Studio – Casa del Mutilato di Genova: Cruo Studio

Opening hours:
December 3 – 13, during regular opening hours or by reservation via email
Tickets: Free admission
Information: segreteria@anmigliguria.com @casadelmutilato
010 581416

Thanks to
Lorenzo Santagata – Head of Santagata Collection
Antonio Figari – President “Associazione Culturale Giano”