At auction is Gianfranco Pancani's historic collection, all of which consists of 15x10 squares

The historic collection of Gianfranco Pancani (Pontremoli, 1926 - Florence, 2011), an esteemed RAI journalist, known for his involvement in sports (an area in which he was also a radio commentator: his name in particular is linked to the Palio di Siena) as well as art, is going up for auction at the Pananti House. Pancani’s is a very special collection whose origins go back to the time of his university education when, as a philosophy student in 1946, he began to have his first contacts with Swiss radio to which he would send his reports from Florence for years and for which he became correspondent for central Italy. His first real approaches to art, however, date back to 1965, when, having landed at RAI in Florence, he met journalist Omero Cambi, then head of the company’s Tuscan information and a great art enthusiast, who introduced him to several artists of the time.

Over the years, his work as a news reporter was joined by that of a sports journalist, which allowed Pancani to travel not only throughout Europe, but also to South America, Asia and Africa. However, despite his numerous work commitments, Pancani always found time to attend exhibitions, conferences, and awards. The close relationships with the Florentine galleries that were most sensitive to artistic novelties at the time such as: The Indian, the Santa Croce Gallery and the Pananti Gallery. Pancani, as a collector, proved curious and enthusiastic: he constantly went in search of novelties and the latest experiments in painting (this was especially the art form of his interest).

Decisive was, in 1959, his encounter with Cesare Zavattini’s collection, exhibited that year in Florence at Palazzo Strozzi: it was a collection consisting exclusively of small-format works, which deeply inspired Pancani, who decided in turn to put together a collection of small but interesting works. However, he imposed a standard format on the artists with whom he collaborated: that of 10 x 15 (or 15 x 10, depending on the orientation of the subject). Few works therefore came from the market, or those of painters who had already disappeared (such as Ottone Rosai or Mario Sironi): the vast majority of the works were the result of Pancani’s relationships with Italian artists of the time. Initially, he moved within the Leghorn milieu (names include those of Gino Romiti, Renato Natali, Cafiero Filippelli) gradually broadening his relationships and frequenting the artists directly or maintaining epistolary relations with them.

The collection also includes works by great names of the 20th century, from Giorgio De Chirico to Renato Guttuso, from Antonio Corpora to Emilio Vedova. The heirs have preserved and archived the requests forwarded by Pancani and every response or letter received from the artists: both those who gave up their works and those who for various reasons were unwilling or unable to participate, such as Giorgio Morandi. The studio of Pancani’s home, the place chosen to guard the treasure represented by the small canvases, is re-presented in its entirety in the Pananti auction, which also aims to commemorate the memory of an important figure, particularly dear to the city of Florence.

At auction is Gianfranco Pancani's historic collection, all of which consists of 15x10 squares

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