Holdings Fine Arts and Applied Arts Art and Design Department Marcel Franciscono papers Finding Aid Holdings Fine Arts and Applied Arts Art and Design Department Marcel Franciscono papers Finding Aid Title: Marcel Franciscono papers, 1949-2008
ID: 12/3/34
Primary Creator: Franciscono, Marcel (1931-2019)
Extent: 2.5 cubic feet
Arrangement:
Series 1: Subject Files (1949-2008) consists of Franciscono's research on Bauhaus and other topics in 20th century painting and architecture, correspondence, U of I College of Fine Arts bylaws and promotion information, a 1975 photograph of members from the Department for Art and Design, and an essay titled: "Mies Van der Rohe's Barcelona Pavilion: What was it?" This series is arranged alphabetically.
Series 2: Classes (1963-1997) includes folders for courses and seminars taught by Franciscono (predominantly 300 and 400 level art courses on subjects such as art nouveau, cubism, art theory, etc.) with lecture notes, outlines, and exams for the courses. Included in the series is a folder on Political Science 295: Nazi Germany, taught by Richard Merrit, for which Franciscono gave a guest lecture on art in Nazi Germany. This series is arranged by course number; folders without a course number are arranged alphabetically at the end of the series.
Series 3: Talks (1960-2006) consists of talks given by Franciscono and his notes for those talks at such venues as the Krannert Art Museum, The New York Museum of Modern Art, and the National Gallery in Washington D.C., and were on subjects such as Walter Gropius, Paul Klee, and Mies Van der Rohe. This series is arranged chronologically.
Series 4: Franciscono's Student Works and Publications (1957-1989) contains some of Franciscono's graduate student essays and a lecture on Donatello. Also included in the series are publications by Franciscono and an English translation of Franciscono's chapter, "The Self and the Character of Things: Some Observations on Max Beckmann's Imagery," published in German in Manfred Brunner's book Max Beckmann (1984).�?� This series is arranged chronologically.
Date Acquired: 05/03/2020
Subjects: Bauhaus, Cubism, Faculty Papers
Marcel Franciscono (1931-2019) became an instructor at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana in 1965 before he became an assistant professor of Art in 1969. In 1972, he became an associate professor; he became a full professor in 1988 until he retired in 1996. Born in New Rochelle, New York, Franciscono received a Bachelor of Arts in painting (magna cum laude) from Queens College (1952), and a Master of Arts (1959) and Ph.D. (1969) in art history from the New York Institute of Fine Arts. Specializing in 20th century painting and architecture--and in particular the German Bauhaus movement and the works of Paul Klee--Franciscono published three books: Walter Gropius and the Creation of the Bauhaus in Weimar (1971), Paul Klee: His Work and Thought (1991), and The Modern Dutch Poster: The First 50 Years (1987). His work on Dutch posters was published as part of an exhibition at the Krannert Art Museum, where he gave multiple lecture series after his retirement. Franciscono also published articles such as The Imagery of Max Beckmann's The Night (1973) and Paul Klee's Italian Journey and the Classical Tradition (1974). Franciscono was especially renowned and beloved as an outstanding teacher. He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and was awarded the Duveen Research Fellowship of the New York Institute of Fine Arts. Marcel Franciscono was married to Renate Franciscono, with whom he had two children. Franciscono died in his sleep on February 25, 2019.
Franciscono's papers include his research (e.g. transcriptions, copies, and notes of original Bauhaus material from the Bauhaus-Archiv in Berlin) and correspondence e.g. with the wife of Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius, Ise Gropius. His papers also contain drafts of his writings; lecture notes, exam questions, and outlines of courses and seminars he taught; talks on subjects in 20th century art at such venues as the Krannert Art Museum, The New York Museum of Modern Art, and the National Gallery in Washington D.C.; some of his graduate work; and a few of his publications.
Organized into 3 series: series 1, Subject Files, 1949-2008, arranged alphabetically; series 2: Classes, 1963-1997, arranged by course number with folders without course numbers arranged alphabetically at the end of the series; series 3, Talks, 1960-2006, arranged chronologically; series 4, Franciscono's Student Works and publications, 1957-1989, arranged chronologically.
Marcel Franciscono (1931-2019 became an instructor at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana in 1965 before he became an assistant professor of Art in 1969. In 1972, he became an associate professor; he became a full professor in 1988 until he retired in 1996. Born in New Rochelle, New York, Franciscono received a Bachelor of Arts in painting (magna cum laude) from Queens College (1952), and a Master of Arts (1959) and Ph.D. (1969) in art history from the New York Institute of Fine Arts. Specializing in 20th century painting and architecture--and in particular the German Bauhaus movement and the works of Paul Klee--Franciscono published three books: Walter Gropius and the Creation of the Bauhaus in Weimar (1971), Paul Klee: His Work and Thought (1991), and The Modern Dutch Poster: The First 50 Years (1987). His work on Dutch posters was published as part of an exhibition at the Krannert Art Museum, where he gave multiple lecture series after his retirement. Franciscono also published articles such as The Imagery of Max Beckmann's The Night (1973) and Paul Klee's Italian Journey and the Classical Tradition (1974). Franciscono was especially renowned and beloved as an outstanding teacher. He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and was awarded the Duveen Research Fellowship of the New York Institute of Fine Arts. Marcel Franciscono was married to Renate Franciscono, with whom he had two children. Franciscono died in his sleep on February 25, 2019.
Marcel Franciscono was married to Renate (Baron) Franciscono, with whom he had two children. Renate Baron's parents, Hans and Edith Baron, their son Rinehart, and Renate (born in 1934 and left in the care of her Berlin grandmother) were Holocaust refugees from Berlin, Germany. Escaping the National Socialist regime in 1934, Hans and Edith originally went to Italy, where due to the Mussolini regime they were unable to find permanent refuge. They returned to Berlin in 1935. Only Edith, Renate, and Rinehart then were allowed to travel to England. Because of England's attempt to restrict male refugees from entering the country -- to protect their labor market - Hans Baron could only join them in England later and on a temporary basis. The family finally immigrated to New York in 1938. Unfortunately, Hans Baron's extensive library was burned in a ship in the London Harbor, but his papers documenting his career as a preeminent Renaissance historian are preserved at the Duke University Archives in North Caroline and the Leo Baeck Institute in New York. Renate Franciscono worked as a translator, including translating her father's works from German to English.
URL: https://files.archon.library.illinois.edu/uasfa/120334.pdf
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