Italian art of the 20th century

VINCENZO CIARDO Born at Gagliano del Capo (Lecce) 1894; lives in Naples. He teaches at the Naples Academy of Beaux Arts. H e took part in many Italian and foreign exhibitions and was awarded numerous prizes, amongst which the Gold Medal "Michetti Prize," 1954 and the "National Gallarate Prize," 1955. He is one of the most representative painters of the contemporary Neapolitan school to which he has brought a new impulse, both formal and of concept 4 9 NOTES O F SPRING (1951) 5 0 SALENT INA COUNTRYS I DE (1953) MICHELANGELO CONTE Born at Spalato (Dalmatia) 1913; lives in Rome. H e took part in exhibitions both in Italy and abroad, and has been awarded various prizes. His work is shown in public and private galleries. H e came to non-objective art after having passed through various phases and experiences. His painting is characterised by adherence to simple themes which find echoes both in colour and materials. Besides oil paintings he has to his credit work done with other techniques, such as mosaic, fresco and lacquer 5 1 ORGAN I C - I NORGAN I C (1955) 5 2 VERT I CAL MOVEMENT (1955) ANTONIO CORPORA Born in Tunis 1909; lives in Rome. T o his credit he has the partici- pation in several Italian and foreign exhibitions. In 1950 he was awarded a prize at the Venice Biennial Exhibition and in 1951 he was given the "Paris" Prize at Cortina d'Ampezzo. Subsequently he established his art in the group of the "New Ar t Front" with a wholly personalised style. More recently he has turned to non-figurative painting 5 3 R E D GULLY (1954) 54 MAR I NE (1955) Collection Mitti-Risi-Lee-Brown, Rome ROMEO DANEO Bo r n in Trieste 1901; lives in the same city. H e took part in many exhibitions in Italy and abroad, winning various prizes at Trieste and Gorizia 55 CHEQUERS IN SPACE (1953) MARIO DAVICO Bo r n in Turin 1920; lives in the same city, where he teaches. He participated in the 1950 and 1952 Venice Biennials and other important Italian and foreign exhibitions besides giving several one-man shows. I n 1952 he was awarded a prize at the Venice Biennial. His work tends towards plastic-chromatic abstract art 5 6 S I LENCE (1955) 5 7 I MAGE (1955) GIORGIO DE CHIRICO Born at Volo in Greece, 1888, of Italian parentage; lives in Rome. Of international renown since 1915-16, has distinguished himself as the creator of "metaphysical" painting of fantastic content. The "meta- physical" painting of De Chirico, which has been christened "dream writing," has created a wide echo not merely in the fields of the plastic arts, but also in literary spheres, and was an important impulse in the creation of surrealism. After a second stay in Paris in 1924, De Chirico's painting took a different trend towards a formally expressed realism according to the classical and, more often, baroque manner 58 59 ST I LL LIFE National Gallery o f Modern Art, Rome METAPHYS I CAL COMPOSITION Collection F. Schettini, Milan PIERO DORAZIO Born in Rome 1927; lives in that city. Studied in Rome and Paris. His work is considered the most promising of the younger generation. His paintings were shown at the Biennale, Triennale, Quadriennale, at many of the "avant-garde" exhibitions in Italy and then in France, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany and in the United States 60 61 VERY WELL , KAS IMI R (1954) RAI SE T H E F LAG T O FREDER I CO (1954) GIANNI DOVA Born-in Rome 1925; lives in Milan. Ha s shown his pictures in Italy and abroad, winning many prizes, such as, in 1948, the "Medardo Rosso" prize, and in 1951 the "Gianni" and the "Rai" prizes, as well as the International "Young Painters' Prize" in Rome, 1955. His art is devoted to the solution of space problems. 6 2 PERSONAGE AND B I RD (1955) FRANCO GENTILINI Born at Faenza, in the Romagna Region, 1909; lives in Rome, where he teaches painting at the Beaux Arts Academy. He took pa r t in the "Scuola Roma n a " movement and showed his work in many Italian and foreign exhibitions, where he was awarded several prizes. His work is to be seen in various national and foreign art galleries, as well as private collections. A n imaginative painter with a subtle sense of humour, he expresses with sensitive technique his fairylike subjects which verge upon the caricature 6 3 THE BETROTHED Collection F. Schettini, Milan 6 4 MARKET Collection Luigi De Luca, Rome MANLIO GIARRIZZO Born at Palermo 1896; lives in Naples, where he teaches at the Academy of Beaux Arts. H e took part in the Venice Biennials, the Rome [ 1 8 ] [19]