Toni del Renzio was born at Tsarskoe Selo (now Pushkino), outside St Petersburg, Russia, in 1915, into aristocratic Russian-Italian lineage. Fleeing the Russian Revolution in 1917 with his family, del Renzio moved to England in 1939, where he became an influential figure in British Surrealism, revitalising the movement through publications such as <em>Arson</em> and the manifesto <em>Incendiary Innocence</em>. An artist, writer, and graphic designer, he was known for innovative collages, passionate polemics, and significant contributions to British art education and exhibition culture.
Artist and writer, Toni del Renzio was born at Tsarskoe Selo (now Pushkino), outside St Petersburg, Russia, on 15 April 1915. His father, Carlo del Renzio, was an Italian aristocrat closely connected to the Russian court, and his mother, Nina Maria, was a Romanov, descended directly from Tsar Nicholas I. The 1917 Revolution forced his parents to flee Russia, bringing their young son to Formia, Italy, where Carlo owned a family estate. Toni's childhood was idyllic, marked by privilege and education, including attending the prestigious Canford School in Dorset, England. He subsequently studied mathematics and philosophy at universities in both Italy and the United States.
During his student travels in Eastern Europe, del Renzio first encountered the Surrealist movement in Prague, Czechoslovakia, igniting his lifelong passion for Surrealism and its associated theoretical debates. In his early twenties, del Renzio was drafted into Mussolini's cavalry and sent to Abyssinia during the Italian colonial campaign. Horrified by the cruelty he witnessed, he deserted his unit, disguised himself as a Bedouin, and fled through Morocco into war-torn Spain, where he briefly fought alongside anti-Franco forces. Forced out by political infighting, he arrived in Paris in 1937, quickly joining the vibrant Surrealist circle around Picasso and André Masson. He actively engaged in painting and design, working for theatre and ballet companies and creating refined, theatrical works inspired by the performing arts.
In 1939, as war loomed, del Renzio relocated to England, engaging directly with the local Surrealist community led by E. L. T. Mesens. During this period, he regularly participated in surrealist gatherings held at the Barcelona Restaurant in London's Beak Street, alongside artists such as Eileen Agar, Ithell Colquhoun, and Reuben Mednikoff. Although initially welcomed, del Renzio soon became disillusioned by what he saw as Mesens' weak leadership and passive approach to the wartime stagnation of surrealist activity. Determined to revitalise the movement, he published the magazine Arson (March 1942), explicitly intended to provoke renewed collective surrealist activity and a deeper commitment to surrealist theory. The magazine featured contributions by André Breton, Robert Melville, Conroy Maddox, and others, clearly establishing itself as a revival of the surrealist movement in Britain. Del Renzio also organised a major surrealist exhibition at the International Arts Centre in 1942, featuring Maddox, Colquhoun, Agar, and other prominent artists. Mesens refused to be involved, marking a definitive rupture within the British surrealist group. Hostilities deepened further when, in 1943, del Renzio edited a surrealist anthology published in New Road 1943, prompting accusations from Mesens of misrepresentation and unauthorised inclusion of surrealist texts. In April 1944, del Renzio responded with the publication of his influential manifesto, Incendiary Innocence, explicitly reaffirming allegiance to Breton, strongly criticising Mesens’ commercially driven leadership, and specifically targeting Mesens’ flirtation with non-surrealist elements, such as the mystically inclined Apocalyptic Movement. Tensions peaked later that year when Mesens’ supporters violently disrupted a poetry reading by del Renzio and Colquhoun, symbolising the bitter divisions that ultimately isolated del Renzio. Reflecting on his marginalisation, del Renzio later argued that his vision for surrealism could have significantly reshaped its international trajectory by liberating it from Francophone dominance and Anglo-centric clichés associated with Lewis Carroll. He envisioned surrealism as strongly oppositional to capitalist exploitation of art, lamenting its later absorption by the art market—specifically pointing to phenomena like ‘Brit-Art’ and figures like Charles Saatchi as betrayals of surrealist principles (del Renzio 2004, p. 27).
Despite these conflicts, del Renzio remained deeply committed to Surrealist ideals. Postwar Britain offered numerous professional opportunities. From 1948–51, he served as art editor for the National Trade Press, influencing magazine design significantly through publications such as Graphis and Penrose Annual. His marriage to Colquhoun ended in divorce in 1948, and he briefly returned to Italy, writing for the Architectural Review. In 1951, he joined the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London, contributing to exhibitions and public events, and becoming an early supporter of emerging movements such as geometric abstraction and pop art. He also participated in the Independent Group’s seminal exhibition, This is Tomorrow (1956), at the Whitechapel Gallery. As a pioneering figure in graphic design, del Renzio reshaped Encounter magazine and launched visually striking publications, such as Flair. From 1969 he lectured at Chelsea School of Art, the Courtauld Institute, and Bath Academy of Art at Corsham, Wiltshire, later becoming head of History of Art and Design at Canterbury College of Art in Kent. From the 1980s onwards, alongside becoming father to quadruplets aged 70, he increasingly focused on painting and collage, developing a highly innovative and experimental practice.In later life, del Renzio reconciled with his old rival Maddox and actively participated in retrospectives and conferences celebrating British Surrealism. The touring exhibition Surrealism in England (1986) provided a platform for him to express his lasting grievances, yet also reaffirm his enduring dedication to Surrealist principles. His last polemic, Alter Ego & Doppelganger was published in 2006. Toni del Renzio died in Margate, Kent, England on 7 January 2007. In the UK public domain, material is held in the Tate archives.
Consult items in the Ben Uri archive related to [Toni del Renzio]
Publications related to [Toni del Renzio] in the Ben Uri Library