When history is illustrated

The exhibition traces the career of Umberto Stagnaro featuring a rich collection of original illustrations donated by the author to the Waldensian Museum by Torre Pellice. Between 1979, the year of the completion of Pradeltorno must not fall!, and in 1997, with Dietrich Bonhoeffer. A Christian who opposed Nazism, Stagnaro has explored the history of the Waldensian history and the European Protestantism, and also devoting comic strips to the figures of Luther e Calvino and using the language of the comics a tool for historical outreach.

The aim was to introduce new readers to complex topics, making them accessible through engaging and effective storytelling. The numerous illustrations on display allow visitors to appreciate the extraordinary precision of his work. Architecture, costumes, the faces and weaponry are rendered with meticulous attention to detail, the result of in-depth documentary research. The same rigour is evident in the reconstruction of the historical events narratives, lending the works a value that is both artistic either informative. Born in 1945, Stagnaro lives and works between Finale Ligure e Torre Pellice. After studying at the “Nicolò Barabino” Art School” by Genoa, in 1964 he moved to Turin, where he attends courses in graphics and begins operating in the sector advertising.

From 1967 to 2011, he was responsible for the graphic design of the’Claudiana Publishers and, at the same time, is pursuing his own research into the relationship between art e Protestantism. Sign visual communication e photography and, from 1977, following the move to Finale Ligure, drawing and art history at the “A. Issel” Scientific High School”. From 1979 onwards, he produced historical comics dedicated to the Protestantism for various Italian and foreign publishing houses. Since 2010, he has been devoting himself exclusively to his own business artistic.