Fortunino Matania R.I. (1881-1963)
Great War illustrations for The Sphere 1915-1920
The ‘Click here for more information’ links below will take you to downloadable / printable pdfs with extracts from the descriptions that were printed alongside Matania’s pictures.
You can read more about The Sphere on the Illustrated London News WWI Archive
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1. ‘The work of the Royal Army Medical Corps: First Aid in the trenches R.A.M.C. orderlies gathering the wounded in a British trench after a successful advance’. Pen, brush, ink, grey wash and white heightening. Inscribed verso: ‘March 6th, 1915, pages 254-255’. Stamped: ‘The Sphere’. Illustrated: The Sphere, London, 6th March, 1915, pp.254-5. 12x20.5 inches. Literature: Lucinda Gosling, Goodbye, Old Man: Matania’s Vision of the First World War, History Press, 2014, Ill. p.53.
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2. ‘Regent Street’, Ploegsteert (‘Plugstreet’) Wood, eight miles south of Ypres. Pen, brush, ink and grey wash. Inscribed verso: ‘Passed by the Censor. Major A. Stuart, GHQ, 14.5.15’ and ‘The Sphere 29th May 1915’. Illustrated: The Sphere, London, 29th May, 1915, pp.216-217. Literature: Lucinda Gosling, Goodbye, Old Man: Matania’s Vision of the First World War, History Press, 2014, Ill. p.56. 12x20.5 inches.
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3. General Count Luigi Cadorna (1850-1928), Commander-In-Chief of the Italian Army. Pencil, grey wash and gouache. Inscribed verso ‘Sphere 19 June 1915 p.287’. Stamped: ‘The Sphere No.864’. Illustrated: The Sphere, London, 19th June, 1915, p.287. 11x7 inches.
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4. Afternoon tea in a ruined farmstead behind the British Lines in the Ypres District. Pen, brush, ink, grey wash and gouache. Signed. Inscribed verso: ‘Passed by the Censor Major A. Stuart, GHQ’. ‘No.36 June 1915’. Illustrated: The Sphere, London, 5th June, 1915, pp.240-241. Literature: Lucinda Gosling, Goodbye, Old Man: Matania’s Vision of the First World War, History Press, 2014, Ill. p.57. 13.5x20.75 inches.
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5. Returned Soldiers working in a Munitions Factory. Pen, brush, ink and wash. Signed. Inscribed verso: ‘Sphere / 11.9.15’, ‘No 37 Sept.1915’. Stamped: ‘Sphere No. 816’. Illustrated: ‘The Sphere’, London, 11th September, 1915, p.285. Literature: Lucinda Gosling, Goodbye, Old Man: Matania’s Vision of the First World War, History Press, 2014, Ill. p.131. 13.5x10 inches.
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6. ‘A Scot rescuing girl’ in Loos, during the Battle of Loos. Pen, brush, ink and grey wash. Signed. Inscribed verso: ‘Sphere 9th Oct 1915 page 27’’. Stamped: ‘Sphere’ no.820’. Illustrated: ‘The Sphere’, London, 9th October, 1915, Front Cover. 12x10 inches.
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7. ‘Keeping off a night attack’. Pen, brush, ink and grey wash. Signed. Inscribed verso: ‘25th Dec 1915, page 327’, stamped: ‘The Sphere no.8(?1)3’. Illustrated: The Sphere, London, 25th December, 1915, p.327. Literature: Lucinda Gosling, Goodbye, Old Man: Matania’s Vision of the First World War, History Press, 2014, Ill. p.131. 13.75x9.75 inches.
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8. ‘Home from the Trenches’. Pen, brush, ink and grey wash. Signed. Inscribed verso and dated ‘1/1/16’. Stamped: ‘The Sphere No.832’. Illustrated: The Sphere, London, 1 January, 1916, No.64, Front Cover. Literature: Lucinda Gosling, Goodbye, Old Man: Matania’s Vision of the First World War, History Press, 2014, Ill. p.64. 12.5x10 inches.
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9. German Gas: a British Attack"https://www.abbottandholder-thelist.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/83022360.jpg">click here). 12x10 inches.
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10. Italian Artillery rounding a pass in the Alps. Pen, brush, ink and wash. Signed. Inscribed verso: ‘Sph. 4/11/1916. P.78’. ‘No.41’. Stamped: ‘Sphere no. 876’. Illustrated: The Sphere, London, 4th November, 1916, Front Cover. 13.25x10 inches.
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11. Ugo Matania (1888-1979) Germans fleeing a British Tank. Gouache. Inscribed verso: ‘2/12/16’, ‘No.42, Dec.1916’. 16.5x11 inches.
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12. Snow ball fight behind the Front. Pen, brush, ink and grey wash. Signed. Inscribed verso: ‘Feb.1917. No.44.’ On label: ‘Sph.3/2/1917 p.85’. ‘Stamped: ‘The Sphere No.889’. Illustrated: The Sphere, London, 3rd February, 1917. Literature: Lucinda Gosling, Goodbye, Old Man: Matania’s Vision of the First World War, History Press, 2014, Ill. p.130. 14x10.75 inches.
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13. The piercing of the German fortified defensive line"https://www.abbottandholder-thelist.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/13-Matania-91945.pdf">Click for more information
14. Ugo Matania (1888-1979) ‘Victory Parade in Hyde Park: General Foch salutes dais / King George V and Queen Mary, Queen Alexandra, Princess Mary, 1919’. Pen, brush, ink and grey wash. Signed and dated, 1919. Inscribed verso and ‘No.82’. Stamped: ‘The Sphere No.1018. 14x11.5 inches.
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15. President Woodrow Wilson announcing the birth of the League of Nations.. Pen, brush, ink, grey wash and gouache. Signed. Inscribed verso: ‘Feb.1919. No.50’. Stamped ‘The Sphere no. 996’. 13x10 inches.
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16. The fate of the German Empire: learning the decision of the Allies. The six delegates listen to the conditions of the Peace Treaty at Versailles. Pen, brush, ink, grey wash and gouache. Signed. Inscribed verso: ‘May, 1919, No 51’. Stamped: ‘The Sphere No.1008’. Illustrated: The Sphere, London, 17th May, 1919, pp.128-9. 13.25x20.25 inches.
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17. The burial of the Unknown Warrior, Westminster Abbey. Pen, brush, ink, grey wash and gouache. Signed. Inscribed verso: ‘Unknown Warrior, Nov.20 1920’. Stamped: ‘The Sphere No.3273’. Literature: Lucinda Gosling, Goodbye, Old Man: Matania’s Vision of the First World War, History Press, 2014, Ill. p.142. 13.75x20.25 inches.
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18. Edouardo Matania (1847-1929) The Ruins of Ypres. Pen, brush, ink and grey wash. Signed. Inscribed verso: ‘No.84’. Stamped: ‘The Sphere, No. 1037’. 14x10 inches.
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MATANIA Fortunino (1881-1963) ‘Stretcher bearers under fire’. Watercolour and gouache painted en grisaille for The Sphere. Signed. Verso: Signed, dated 16th September 1917 and inscribed ‘Sphere/ Front page’. 12x10 inches.
MATANIA Fortunino (1881-1963) First World War: Return from the Line. Pencil, watercolour and gouache. Signed. Dated verso, 1918. Possibly for ‘The Sphere’. 13.25x9.5 inches.