Arte Povera

UK/ˌɑːteɪ ˈpɒvəɹə/US/ˌɑɹteɪ ˈpoʊvəɹə/

proper noun

A radical Italian modern art movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s, making use of worthless or common materials such as earth or newspaper, in the hope of subverting the commercialization of art.

OriginItalian arte povera →
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Meanings

proper noun
  1. artA radical Italian modern art movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s, making use of worthless or common materials such as earth or newspaper, in the hope of subverting the commercialization of art.

    Arte Povera, the politicized avant-garde art movement that blossomed in Italy in the late ’60s, is having a moment.

    2017 January 30, M. H. Miller, “Arte Povera Is Back”, in The New York Times Style Magazine, →ISSN
    2 more examples

    One mysterious collector wearing a black porkpie hat enthusiastically bid on many of the best Arte Povera works and ended up buying several by Boetti.

    2014 February 12, Carol Vogel, “In London, an Auction of Arte Povera Yields Rich Results”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

    Energetic and urbane[…] Mr. Celant championed this generation of artists throughout his 50-year career, presenting large exhibitions of Arte Povera at the Centre Pompidou in Paris and at P.S. 1 in New York City.

    2020 April 30, Jason Farago, “Germano Celant, Curator Behind Italy’s Arte Povera, Dies at 79”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

Origin

  1. Italianarte povera
  2. EnglishArte Povera

Borrowed from Italian arte povera (literally “poor art”). The term was coined by Italian art critic and curator Germano Celant and introduced in Italy during the period of upheaval at the end of the 1960s, when artists were taking a radical stance.

More words from Italian

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan art pobre
  • art pobreItalian modern art movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s
German Arte Povera
  • Arte PoveraItalian modern art movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s
Greek άρτε πόβερα
  • άρτε πόβερα (árte póvera)Italian modern art movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s
Hebrew אָרְטֶה פּוֹבֶרָה
  • אָרְטֶה פּוֹבֶרָה (árteh póverah)Italian modern art movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s
Italian arte povera
  • arte poveraItalian modern art movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s
Japanese アルテ・ポーヴェラ
  • アルテ・ポーヴェラ (Arute Pōvera)Italian modern art movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s
Korean 아르테 포베라
  • 아르테 포베라 (Areute Pobera)Italian modern art movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s
Portuguese arte povera, arte pobre
  • arte poveraItalian modern art movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s
  • arte pobreItalian modern art movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s
Russian а́рте по́вера
  • а́рте по́вера (árte póvera)Italian modern art movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s
Spanish arte povera, arte pobre
  • arte poveraItalian modern art movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s
  • arte pobreItalian modern art movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s
Thai ศิลปะสมถะ
  • ศิลปะสมถะ (sǐn-lá-bpà sǒ-má-tà)Italian modern art movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s
Cite this entry
APA

Arte Povera. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Arte%20Povera

MLA

“Arte Povera.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Arte%20Povera. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Arte Povera,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Arte%20Povera.

Source: Arte Povera on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.