Arturo Ciacelli (1883 - 1966) 'natura morta', chalk pastel on paper, mat inner dimensions 30.5 cm x 47.5 cm, signed, titled on the reverse, numbered 3, firmly mounted under the mat, minor localised losses of pigment, mat defectiveArturo Ciacelli was born in Rome in 1883. In his long and productive career, he mainly painted in an abstract style. Ciacelli attended the free courses at the Accademi de belle arti in Rome, where in 1909 he met the Swedish artist Elsa Ström and married her in the same year.In 1911, he travelled tot Paris, where he became acquainted with the Cubist artists in the circle of Robert Delaunay. It was here that he also first came into contact with the Italian Futurist group, which he later joined. He had his first solo exhibition at the University of Lund. 102 of his works were exhibited, including 22 in pastels, like the present work, as well as oil paintings, drawings, etchings and ceramic pieces. The exhibition was later presented in several galleries and was exceedingly successful, with all of the works being sold.Ciacelli resided in Sweden until 1930. In his role as artist and gallerist, he facilitated artistic exchange between Italy, France, and the Nordic countries. He returned to Italy for good in 1938 and there his planar, geometric compositions made him one of the leading proponents of Futurism.