Abstract

The article aims to offer an accurate and unedited reading of the Racconti di Bruto, written by the painter Osvaldo Licini in 1913. Starting from Marinetti’s opinion, which, although published, has not so far been studied by critics, this essay explores the difference that separates Bruto from Futurism. What are the real cultural models to which the young Licini looked in 1913? What lies behind the cruelty of Bruto? The true heart of the article is the relationship between violence and tenderness in Bruto and the reconstruction of this bond through a search for potential writers and inspiring characters, from Rimbaud to Soffici, from Pierrot to Palazzeschi. Furthermore, the analysis of this strange episode of Italian literature of the early twentieth century allows us to better understand what was the cultural climate of this complex literary season, suspended, in the manner of Bruto, between Futurism and the memory of Symbolism