Book of the Day > Pittori di Cinema. Published by Lazy Dog Press. "In the wake of the Second World War, and above all, from the Sixties on, the Italian film industry began to commission artists to illustrate and promote its films. They were to sum up the entire movie plot in a single image, communicating at a glance all the emotion of a narrative. They were “cinema artists”. This 432-page volume addresses the work of twenty-nine artists, spanning the years between the Forties and the Nineties, with over 500 colour illustrations, including sketches, drafts and previously unpublished works from private collections, as well as works that were rejected or used in other ways. Maurizio Baroni, a passionate expert, author and collector, draws on his own large personal archive – now housed at Bologna Cineteca – to examine forty years of Italian cinema through playbills and posters. The works, divided by artist, are annotated by Andrea Mi and Luca Barcelona, whose critical essay skillfully analyses all aspects linked to illustration and lettering respectively, in relation to their message. The artists are introduced by Alessandra Cesselon, giving an overview of their work from the artistic point of view. The book is aimed at film-lovers and collectors, but also graphic designers and illustrators as well as students and professionals, as a historical record and an inspiration for future generations of communicators."