The career paths of the artists and illustrators Vittorio Accornero de Testa (1896–1982) and Edina Altara (1998–1983) first crossed when they worked on Il giornalino della Domenica, in which Accornero made his debut in 1919, followed by Altara in 1920. Their professional and personal lives soon became intertwined: they married in 1922 and worked together on the design of their wedding invitation, which was also a declaration of style.
During the years of their marriage the couple shared the fate of high society, working at a breakneck pace during the Art Deco period. Although they eventually separated, they never lost touch and even managed to reinvent themselves during the complex period that followed the Second World War. The existence of the two artists embraced a wide range of different dynamics in Italian artistic creation, ranging from graphics to the design of objects.
This book paints a portrait of two lives spent exploring ever changing dimensions of creation, working alongside illustrious names in Italian design and fashion, including Rodolfo Gucci, who enjoyed a special partnership with Accornero, and Gio Ponti, who wanted Edina Altara alongside him in major interior design projects.

Nuoro, MAN, July 2021 - January 2022

Contents

Vittorio Accornero – Edina Altara. Family Group with Images
Luigi Fassi

The Fairy Tale of Edina and Ninon: Art and Life of Vittorio Accornero de Testa and Edina Altara
Luca Scarlini

Edina Forbicicchia in Zia Mariù’s “Mini-Factory” 1917–1930
Pompeo Vagliani

Edina Altara. “Bellezza”, Torino e la moda
Edina Altara: Bellezza, Turin and Fashion
Silvia Mira

Bellezza, Mensile dell’alta moda e di vita italiana. History, Development and Events
Giorgia Toso

Marriages of Colours
Lauretta Colonnelli

Silk painting: The Decorative Charm of Fairy Tales. Vittorio Accornero’s Work with Gucci (1960–82)
Aurora Fiorentini

Vittorio Accornero Exhibits at the Galleria Gussoni in Milan
Orio Vergani

Are They Real or Are They Painted?
Dino Buzzati

Edina and Ninon
Federico Spano

WORKS

English Captions
Bibliography Raisonné
Edina Altara, Biography
Vittorio Accornero de Testa, Biography
Authors’ Biographies