Carlo Adolfo Schlatter

Painter, writer, and scholar of philosophy and theosophy, Carlo Adolfo Schlatter (1873–1958) trained in the early twentieth century at the School of the Nude and studied with Ciaranfi and Ussi, in a cultural context animated by deep spiritual reflection and a widespread anti-positivist sentiment.

His adherence to theosophy at the end of the nineteenth century marks a fundamental passage in his artistic research, which shifts from an initial realism with Macchiaioli influences to a symbolism inspired by ideal and mystical visions. Through painting, graphic arts, and writing, Schlatter developed a personal and visionary language capable of uniting introspection and spiritual tension, nature and thought, the visible and the invisible.

The exhibition layout, articulated in seven sections, accompanies the visitor on a journey marked by the central themes of Schlatter’s production.

The itinerary opens with a self-portrait at the age of thirty and with a portrait of his wife Emma Moni, a central figure in the artist’s life and imagination. After her passing, theosophy became for Schlatter a practice of comfort and spiritual closeness to the soul of his beloved, at a time when he depicted himself in entirely symbolic forms.

A small section of the exhibition is hosted at the A. Bonsanti Contemporary Archive, G.P. Vieusseux Literary and Scientific Cabinet, where a selection of documents (photographs, sketches, mock-ups, and the original will) is displayed, coming from the Schlatter Collection donated in 2015 by his heirs.

The exhibition is made possible thanks also to the support of the Italian Theosophical Society APS and the company Pietre di Rapolano.