Galleria Camattini
Via Garibaldi, 13
43100 Parma, Italy

Preparatory drawings for the fresco painting in the Church in  Sesta
May 16 – 18, 1963

The fresco paintings in the Church in Sesta were at a fair stage of their completion, and all the preparatory drawings were laying around on the floor in a compulsive disarray and considered as mere notes of no valuable interest by Madoi. These sketches served as a diary on the way to his Church, a mean to convince the last sceptics, to remember , or simply to hold back his restlessness while waiting for a permission by the authorities, for a model to give his consent to be painted (usually afterwards, with his image already appearing on the fresco) or simply for the plaster on the walls to dry . A pious hand took care of collecting these priceless drawings and convinced Madoi that an exibition of these art works in Parma might have been a good way to win the last reluctances, if any. So, a wide collection of these preparatory drawings, cleaned up and properly adjusted to the Gallery standard, appeared on this three days exibition. At the vernissage, among the critics and the best of Parma, a delegation of villagers of Sesta was moving around, in their best attires. For some of them it was the first time in town, but they were at ease in giving interviews to the press, in posing aside their portraits appearing on the drawings and so proud of being there.