Achilles Rizzoli
Encyclopedia
Achilles G. Rizzoli anonymous during his lifetime, has since his death become celebrated as an outsider
artist. He is an unusual example of an "outsider" artist who had considerable formal training in drawing.
Born in Marin County, California
, Rizzoli lived near the U.S. city of San Francisco, where he was employed as an architectural draftsman. After his death, a group of elaborate drawings came to light, many in the form of maps and architectural renderings that described an imaginary world exposition (much of which was designated "Y.T.T.E.," for "Yield To Total Elation"). The drawings include "portraits" of his mother (whom he lived with until her death in 1937) and neighborhood children "symbolically sketched" in the form of fanciful neo-baroque
buildings.
A film was made about his life and work, called Yield to Total Elation: The Life and Art of Achilles Rizzoli.
Outsider Art
The term outsider art was coined by art critic Roger Cardinal in 1972 as an English synonym for art brut , a label created by French artist Jean Dubuffet to describe art created outside the boundaries of official culture; Dubuffet focused particularly on art by insane-asylum inmates.While...
artist. He is an unusual example of an "outsider" artist who had considerable formal training in drawing.
Born in Marin County, California
Marin County, California
Marin County is a county located in the North San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. As of 2010, the population was 252,409. The county seat is San Rafael and the largest employer is the county government. Marin County is well...
, Rizzoli lived near the U.S. city of San Francisco, where he was employed as an architectural draftsman. After his death, a group of elaborate drawings came to light, many in the form of maps and architectural renderings that described an imaginary world exposition (much of which was designated "Y.T.T.E.," for "Yield To Total Elation"). The drawings include "portraits" of his mother (whom he lived with until her death in 1937) and neighborhood children "symbolically sketched" in the form of fanciful neo-baroque
Neo-baroque
The Baroque Revival or Neo-baroque was an architectural style of the late 19th century. The term is used to describe architecture which displays important aspects of Baroque style, but is not of the Baroque period proper—i.e., the 17th and 18th centuries.Some examples of Neo-baroque architecture:*...
buildings.
A film was made about his life and work, called Yield to Total Elation: The Life and Art of Achilles Rizzoli.
External links
- Web site for the film Yield to Total Elation
- The Ames Gallery the Artists profile of A.G. Rizzoli
- The New York Times review of 1998 Rizzoli exhibit at Museum of American Folk Art in New York City.
- Achilles G. Rizzoli : biography, bibliography, filmography, links at the Biography Project, popsubculture.com.