Raugei, Marco

Italy, 1958 - 2003

Marco Raugei was from a working-class background. Although he attended elementary school for five years, he was never able to adapt. He was then sent to various special-education institutions. Still living at home in 1986, Raugei began frequenting La Tinaia, an artistic workshop at the San Salvi psychiatric hospital in Florence. Raugei always talked while he drew, mumbling incomprehensibly in a variety of voices. His graphic style is characterized mainly by repeated patterns. He drew only objects or figures that were a part of his daily life. Once he had begun his work, Raugei would not stop until the sheet of paper was fully covered. The obsession with repetition that underlies his work served as an incantatory rite in which his voice was a vital component. A drawing alone cannot possibly reflect this.