Beyond being an Italian sculptor The exile of Fred Carasso in the Low Countries after the rise of fascism, 1928-1958

Fred Carasso (1899-1969) has thus far been regarded as a minor Italian sculptor in the Netherlands. However, this dissertation investigates the impact of his exile after the rise of Fascism in Italy in 1922 to uncover the more complex processes of becoming a sculptor and what activities he employed beyond sculpture. From a broader methodological point of view, the study demonstrates that preserved primary materials on less successful artists enable more perspectives on artistic production and identity formation, especially regarding those in exile. Chapter 1 discusses the conceptual framework of art, migration, and identity. Chapter 2 explores Carasso’s early years against the background of the First World War and its aftermath, which marked the rise of Fascism and Communism in Italy. Chapter 3 examines Carasso’s works on paper made in Brussels and his work under the Fred Deltor pseudonym, whereas Chapter 4 focuses on his arrival in Amsterdam in 1934 and the Dutch emancipation of the sculptor-artisan. Chapter 5 concerns Carasso’s monuments and the Dutch post-war memorial culture, with Chapter 6 turning the focus to the journal Voce Italiana, aimed at Italian emigrants in the Netherlands in 1946 and 1947. Chapter 7 finally proposes to reconsider the figurative nature of his sculptural practice through investigating his renewed engagement with Italy after the war. Perceiving Carasso’s identity as an Italian sculptor in the expanded field of his exile ultimately gives more insights into the changing meanings and functions of sculpture as interrelated with the politics that were foundational to his forced dislocations.