Pro Italia - Allies and Brothers-In-Arms for Justice
Pro Italia - Allies and Brothers-In-Arms for Justice. Drawn for an Italian Celebration on Italian Day, 7th October 1915, and disposed of in the streets in the form of a souvenir pocket handkerchief (Original drawing in the hands of the Italian Red Cross Society). Fortunino Matania, Ri (1881-1963). One of the most accomplished realistic illustrators and artists of his time, his wartime work was immensely popular and appeared in nearly every major news magazine, Allied, Neutral and Central Powers alike. Literally tens of millions of readers saw wartime events through the medium of Matania's weekly illustrations and, as such, he played an important role in defining people's mental image of what Great War battlefield scenes and soldiers looked like
