7/22/2019 The Fine Art of Italian Hand Gestures_ a Vintage Visual Dictionary by Bruno Munari _ Brain Pickings

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-fine-art-of-italian-hand-gestures-a-vintage-visual-dictionary-by-bruno 1/12

12/3/13 The Fine Ar t of Ital ian Hand Gestures: A Vintage Visual Dictionary by Bruno Munar i | Brain Pickings

www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/12/13/bruno-munari-speak-i talian-gestures/?fb_action_ids=10201342787392598&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=o… 1

Search

about

support

contact

bookshelf

newsletter

literary jukebox

sounds

art

newsletter

Brain Pickings has a freeweekly interestingness digest.

It comes out on Sundays and

offers the week's best

articles. Here's an example.

Like? Sign up.

Name

Email

subscribe

donating = loving

Brain Pickings remains ad-free

and takes hundreds of hours

a month to research and

write, and thousands of

dollars to sustain. If you find

any joy and value in it, please

consider becoming a Member

and supporting with a

recurring monthly donation

of your choosing, between a

cup of tea and a good dinner:

♥ $7 / month

 

You can also become a one-

time patron with a single

donation in any amount:

 

labors of love

The Fine Art of Italian HandGestures: A Vintage Visual

Dictionary by Bruno Munariby Maria Popova

 A pocket guide to Neapolitan nonverbal communication.

Somewhere between his seminal manifestos

on design as art and his timelessly delightful

children’s books, legendary Italian artist and

graphic designer Bruno Munari made time

for a number of idiosyncratic side projects.

Among them is Speak Italian: The Fine Art of 

 the Gesture (UK; public library) — a charming,

quirky, minimalist guide to Italians’ expressive

nonverbal communication originally published

in 1958 as a supplement to the Italian

dictionary, inspired by The Ancients’ Mimic

Through the Neapolitan Gestures, the first

collection of gestures made by Canon Andrea

de Jorio in 1832. Unlike the hefty and sparsely

illustrated 380-page original tome, however, Munari’s pocket-sized version

features frugally descriptive text and ample, elegant black-and-white

photographs of hand-gestures for everything from mundane activities like

reading and writing to emotive expressions of praise and criticism.

In the short preface, Munari notes the globalization of nonverbal vernacular, as

Neapolitan gestures begin being recognized worldwide and American imports

like “OK” permeate Italian culture, then promises:

We have collected a good many gestures, leaving aside

vulgar ones, in order to give an idea of their meaning to

foreigners visiting Italy and as a supplement to an Italian

dictionary.

7/22/2019 The Fine Art of Italian Hand Gestures_ a Vintage Visual Dictionary by Bruno Munari _ Brain Pickings

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-fine-art-of-italian-hand-gestures-a-vintage-visual-dictionary-by-bruno 2/12

12/3/13 The Fine Art of Italian Hand Gestures: A Vintage Visual Dictionary by Bruno Munari | Brain Pickings

www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/12/13/bruno-munari-speak-i talian-gestures/?fb_action_ids=10201342787392598&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=o… 2

Old Neapolitan gestures, from left to right: money, past times, affirmation,stupid, good, wait a moment, to walk backward, to steal, horns, to ask for.

7/22/2019 The Fine Art of Italian Hand Gestures_ a Vintage Visual Dictionary by Bruno Munari _ Brain Pickings

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-fine-art-of-italian-hand-gestures-a-vintage-visual-dictionary-by-bruno 3/12

12/3/13 The Fine Ar t of Ital ian Hand Gestures: A Vintage Visual Dictionary by Bruno Munar i | Brain Pickings

www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/12/13/bruno-munari-speak-i talian-gestures/?fb_action_ids=10201342787392598&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=o… 3

must-reads Another illustrated page of the book of Canon Andrea de Jorio. Meaning of the gestures: silence, no, beauty, hunger, to mock, weariness, stupid, squint, to

deceive, cunning.

7/22/2019 The Fine Art of Italian Hand Gestures_ a Vintage Visual Dictionary by Bruno Munari _ Brain Pickings

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-fine-art-of-italian-hand-gestures-a-vintage-visual-dictionary-by-bruno 4/12

12/3/13 The Fine Art of Italian Hand Gestures: A Vintage Visual Dictionary by Bruno Munari | Brain Pickings

www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/12/13/bruno-munari-speak-i talian-gestures/?fb_action_ids=10201342787392598&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=o… 4

HOW TO FIND YOUR PURPOSE AND DO

WHAT YOU LOVE

FAIL SAFE: COURAGE AND THE CREATIVE

LIFE

FAMOUS WRITERS ON WRITING

HOW TO STAY SANE

CULTURAL ICONS ON THE MEANING OF LIFE

Gestures of drinking and eating (from an old Neapolitan print)

'You make a mockery of the 'madam'!' (from an old Neapolitan print)

7/22/2019 The Fine Art of Italian Hand Gestures_ a Vintage Visual Dictionary by Bruno Munari _ Brain Pickings

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-fine-art-of-italian-hand-gestures-a-vintage-visual-dictionary-by-bruno 5/12

12/3/13 The Fine Art of Italian Hand Gestures: A Vintage Visual Dictionary by Bruno Munari | Brain Pickings

www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/12/13/bruno-munari-speak-i talian-gestures/?fb_action_ids=10201342787392598&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=o… 5

ALBERT EINSTEIN ON THE SECRET TO

LEARNING ANYTHING

THE BEST BOOKS OF 2012

THE DAILY ROUTINES OF FAMOUS WRITERS

5 ESSENTIAL BOOKS ON FEAR AND THE

CREATIVE PROCESS

10 TIPS ON WRITING FROM DAVID OGILVY

7/22/2019 The Fine Art of Italian Hand Gestures_ a Vintage Visual Dictionary by Bruno Munari _ Brain Pickings

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-fine-art-of-italian-hand-gestures-a-vintage-visual-dictionary-by-bruno 6/12

12/3/13 The Fine Art of Italian Hand Gestures: A Vintage Visual Dictionary by Bruno Munari | Brain Pickings

www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/12/13/bruno-munari-speak-i talian-gestures/?fb_action_ids=10201342787392598&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=o… 6

9 BOOKS TO HELP YOU READ MORE AND

WRITE BETTER

JOHN CLEESE ON THE 5 FACTORS TO MAKE

YOUR LIFE MORE CREATIVE

JOAN DIDION ON KEEPING A NOTEBOOK

100 IDEAS THAT CHANGED GRAPHIC

DESIGN

7 MUST-READ BOOKS ON THE ART &

SCIENCE OF HAPPINESS

7/22/2019 The Fine Art of Italian Hand Gestures_ a Vintage Visual Dictionary by Bruno Munari _ Brain Pickings

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-fine-art-of-italian-hand-gestures-a-vintage-visual-dictionary-by-bruno 7/12

12/3/13 The Fine Art of Italian Hand Gestures: A Vintage Visual Dictionary by Bruno Munari | Brain Pickings

www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/12/13/bruno-munari-speak-i talian-gestures/?fb_action_ids=10201342787392598&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=o… 7

RICHARD DAWKINS ON EVIDENCE IN

SCIENCE, LIFE AND LOVE: A LETTER TO

HIS 10-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER

CREATIVE CARTOGRAPHY: 7 MUST-READ

BOOKS ON MAPS

CARL SAGAN ON SCIENCE AND

SPIRITUALITY

JOHN STEINBECK ON FALLING IN LOVE: A

1958 LETTER

7 OBSCURE CHILDREN’S BOOKS BY

FAMOUS AUTHORS OF ADULT LITERATURE

7/22/2019 The Fine Art of Italian Hand Gestures_ a Vintage Visual Dictionary by Bruno Munari _ Brain Pickings

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-fine-art-of-italian-hand-gestures-a-vintage-visual-dictionary-by-bruno 8/12

12/3/13 The Fine Art of Italian Hand Gestures: A Vintage Visual Dictionary by Bruno Munari | Brain Pickings

www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/12/13/bruno-munari-speak-i talian-gestures/?fb_action_ids=10201342787392598&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=o… 8

WHY WE LOVE: 5 BOOKS ON THE

PSYCHOLOGY OF LOVE

7 MUST-READ BOOKS ON MUSIC,

EMOTION & THE BRAIN

BERTRAND RUSSELL'S 10 COMMANDMENTS

OF TEACHING

5½ TIMELESS COMMENCEMENT SPEECHES

TO TEACH YOU TO DEFINE YOUR OWN

SUCCESS

explore

activism  advertising

animation  art

books  children's

books  collaboration

creativity

7/22/2019 The Fine Art of Italian Hand Gestures_ a Vintage Visual Dictionary by Bruno Munari _ Brain Pickings

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-fine-art-of-italian-hand-gestures-a-vintage-visual-dictionary-by-bruno 9/12

12/3/13 The Fine Art of Italian Hand Gestures: A Vintage Visual Dictionary by Bruno Munari | Brain Pickings

www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/12/13/bruno-munari-speak-i talian-gestures/?fb_action_ids=10201342787392598&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=o… 9

culture  data

visualization  designdiaries  documentary

education  film  food

happiness  historyillustrationinnovation  interview

knowledge  lettersliterature  love  musicneuroscience  omnibus

philosophyphotography  poetry

politics

psychology  remix

science  social web

SoundCloud  sustainability

technology  TED

video  vintage  vintage

children's books world  writing

7/22/2019 The Fine Art of Italian Hand Gestures_ a Vintage Visual Dictionary by Bruno Munari _ Brain Pickings

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-fine-art-of-italian-hand-gestures-a-vintage-visual-dictionary-by-bruno 10/12

12/3/13 The Fine Ar t of Ital ian Hand Gestures: A Vintage Visual Dictionary by Bruno Munar i | Brain Pickings

www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/12/13/bruno-munari-speak-i talian-gestures/?fb_action_ids=10201342787392598&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=… 10

For a naughty twist, complement Speak Italian: The Fine Art of the Gesture with

the surrealist chart of erotic hand signaling.

Donating = Loving

Bringing you (ad-free) Brain Pickings takes hundreds of hours each month. If 

 you find any joy and stimulation here, please consider becoming a Supporting

Member with a recurring monthly donation of your choosing, between a cup of 

tea and a good dinner:

♥ $7 / month

7/22/2019 The Fine Art of Italian Hand Gestures_ a Vintage Visual Dictionary by Bruno Munari _ Brain Pickings

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-fine-art-of-italian-hand-gestures-a-vintage-visual-dictionary-by-bruno 11/12

12/3/13 The Fine Ar t of Ital ian Hand Gestures: A Vintage Visual Dictionary by Bruno Munar i | Brain Pickings

www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/12/13/bruno-munari-speak-i talian-gestures/?fb_action_ids=10201342787392598&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=… 1

Brain Pickings participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to ea

commissions by linki ng to Amazon. In more human terms, this means that whenever you buy a book on Amazo n from a link o n here, I get a small

percentage of its price. That helps support Brain Pickings by offsetting a fraction of what it takes to maintain the site, and is very much appreci ated.

Brain Pickings Subscribe

RSS

email

Design by: Josh Boston

Tweet

1,526120

You can also become a one-time patron with a single donation in any amount:

Brain Pickings has a free weekly newsletter. It comes out onSundays and offers the week’s best articles. Here’s what toexpect. Like? Sign up.

Like   14k

0

TAGS: ART   BOOKS   BRUNO MUNARI   CULTURE   DESIGN   LANGUAGE   VINTAGE

 

Iconic Illustrator Eric

Carle's Vibrant Ode

to Friendship

Fritz Kahn: The Little-

Known Godfather of 

Infographics

How Hans Chr istian

Andersen

Revolutionized

Storytelling, Plus the

Best Illustrations

from 150 ...

Wild Raspberries:

 Young Andy Warhol's

Little-Known Vintage

Cookbook

You might also enjoy:

7/22/2019 The Fine Art of Italian Hand Gestures_ a Vintage Visual Dictionary by Bruno Munari _ Brain Pickings

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-fine-art-of-italian-hand-gestures-a-vintage-visual-dictionary-by-bruno 12/12

12/3/13 The Fine Ar t of Ital ian Hand Gestures: A Vintage Visual Dictionary by Bruno Munar i | Brain Pickings