Ben Uri Research Unit

for the study and digital recording of the Jewish, Refugee and wide Immigrant contribution to British visual culture since 1900.


Toni del Renzio artist

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.

Born: 1915 Tsarskoe Selo (now Pushkino), Russia

Died: 2007 Margate, Kent, England

Year of Migration to the UK: 1939

Other name/s: Antonino Romanov del Renzio dei Rossi di Castellone e Venosa, Tony Renzio


Biography

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.

Related books

  • Desmond Morris, 101 Surrealists (London: Thames & Hudson, 2024)
  • Michael Richardson, The International Encyclopedia of Surrealism (London: Bloomsbury, 2020)
  • Michel Rémy, Surrealism in Britain (Milton: Routledge, 2019)
  • ‘Lives Remembered', The Times, 10 July 2007, p. 56
  • ‘Toni del Renzio’, Obituary, The Times, 16 January 2007, p. 53
  • Toni del Renzio: Alter Ego & Doppelganger, Surrealist Bulletin No. 1 (Leeds: Jeffrey Sherwin in association with Northern Artists Gallery, 2006)
  • Silvano Levy, ‘The del Renzio Affair: A Leadership Struggle in Wartime Surrealism’, Papers of Surrealism No. 3, Spring 2005
  • Toni del Renzio ‘Appendix: Statement by del Renzio made on 28 September 2004’, in Silvano Levy, ‘The del Renzio Affair: A Leadership Struggle in Wartime Surrealism’, Papers of Surrealism No. 3, Spring 2005
  • Silvano Levy, Surrealism: Surrealist Visuality (New York: New York University Press, 1997)
  • Toni del Renzio, Ralph Rumney: Constants 1950-1988 (London: England & Co, 1989)
  • Toni Del Renzio and Duncan Scott, Surrealism in England: 1936 and after (Kent County Council, 1986)
  • Toni Del Renzio, Asger Jorn: Recent Paintings (London: Arthur Tooth and Sons, 1966)
  • Toni Del Renzio, Max Ernst, exhibition catalogue (London: Institute of Contemporary Arts, 1961)
  • Toni Del Renzio and Lawrence Alloway, Paintings from the Damiano Collection (London: ICA, 1959)
  • Lawrence Alloway with additional research by Toni del Renzio, Dimensions: British abstract art 1948-1957 (London: O'Hana Gallery, 1958)
  • David Sylvester, ‘British Abstract Art’, New Statesman, 21 December 1957, p. 851
  • Toni Del Renzio, 11 British Painters: Recent Work (London: ICA, 1953)
  • Toni Del Renzio, Manifesto Incendiary Innocence (London: Toni del Renzio, 1944)
  • Toni del Renzio, Arson: an Ardent Review: Part One of a Surrealist Manifestation (London: T. del Renzio, 1942)

Related organisations

  • Bath Academy of Art (tutor)
  • British Studies Centre of the Institute for American Universities (Director)
  • Canterbury College of Art (Head of Art History Department)
  • Chelsea School of Art (lecturer)
  • Courtauld Institute of Art, London (lecturer)

Related web links

Selected exhibitions

  • Surrealism in England: 1936 and after, Canterbury College of Art (1986)
  • Asger Jorn: Recent Paintings, Arthur Tooth and Sons, London (1966)
  • Max Ernst, ICA, London (1961)
  • Paintings from the Damiano Collection, curated with Lawrence Alloway, ICA, London (1959)
  • 11 British Painters: Recent Work, ICA, London (1953)
  • Surrealist Exhibition, ICA, London (1942)