"Arte femminile" nel ventennio

In recent decades, scholarship on twentieth-century women artists has been enriched by research that, on the one hand, seeks to situate them within broader historical and social frameworks, and on the other, aims to identify their specificities. Within this context, and following a general overview, this paper offers a preliminary analysis of the limited yet significant debate surrounding the notion of ‘female art’ in Italian critical discourse during the interwar period. Certain women artists and academics, attuned to the dynamics of the art system and active within professional associations, contributed to discussions on the Woman Question and on the status of the artist. Their testimonies merit renewed consideration today, particularly in light of the historical milieu and the strategies through which Fascism constructed consensus. Claiming the status of artist often entailed recognition of the exceptional nature of certain female professionals, although the parameters of such acknowledgment remained far from clearly delineated.