«Nothing More Mediocre or Nothing More Masculine». Women’s emancipatory movements in Italy at the first International Women’s Fine Arts Exhibition in Turin and the first Congress of the Associazione Per la Donna in Rome (1910-1911)

Abstract

Analyzing the Italian feminist movement of the early 20th century, the historical phenomenon that stands out is that of women's associationism. Studying the aggregation of women's groups allows us to trace a biography of the movement and contributes to writing a still under-documented story of early Italian feminism.  

In 1910-1911, women's associationism converged in two crucial events in its history: the First Women's Exhibition of Fine Arts in Turin, organised by the magazine 'La Donna' and the First Congress of the Associazione Per la Donna in the context of the 1911 International Exhibition in Rome. The analysis brings out the red thread linking exhibitions and discursive practices in the two cases studied: on the one hand, 'La Donna' gave life to a show that promoted and supported women's art, acting for the professionalisation of women artists and a women's market; on the other hand, the Associazione Per la Donna placed women's social and political claims at the centre of the debate during the Rome Exhibition. The article is part of the branch of research on international feminist movements as a field of investigation intertwining gender, politics, and art. The essay focuses on the first steps of the Italian feminist movement and its forms of institutionalisation, analysing in particular the links between visual and discursive production within two relevant cultural frames of the early 20th century.