Italian painting, 1936
Dublin Core
Title
Italian painting, 1936
Subject
Fascist Italy
Description
Italian painting (ca. 1936) showing Mussolini on horseback as troops march in the foreground. Winged Victory seems to be depicted in the clouds to the top right as well. Designed by prolific artist and propagandist Clemente Tafuri, it also featured as an illustration on postcards with lyrics from the ‘Song of the Legionaries’ (Cantate dei legionari) below. The text reads:
Duce who gave the people the Empire
we will fertilize it with work,
with the old world gone mad
there are always scores to settle.
Duce who gave the people the Empire,
we are ready for You to begin again.
The song was written by Auro D'Alba (real name Umberto Bottone) to celebrate the exploits of the Blackshirt volunteers in Africa. The painting and postcard were produced following the Italo-Ethiopian War, presumably not long after Mussolini delivered his famous speech proclaiming the foundation of the empire in Rome on 9 May 1936.
Duce who gave the people the Empire
we will fertilize it with work,
with the old world gone mad
there are always scores to settle.
Duce who gave the people the Empire,
we are ready for You to begin again.
The song was written by Auro D'Alba (real name Umberto Bottone) to celebrate the exploits of the Blackshirt volunteers in Africa. The painting and postcard were produced following the Italo-Ethiopian War, presumably not long after Mussolini delivered his famous speech proclaiming the foundation of the empire in Rome on 9 May 1936.
Creator
Clemente Tafuri
Date
1936
Format
Painting
Collection
Tags
Citation
Clemente Tafuri, “Italian painting, 1936,” The Propaganda Archive, accessed May 15, 2026, https://www.propagandopolis.org/items/show/10.