Leonardo Bistolfi
Encyclopedia
Leonardo Bistolfi was an Italian
sculptor, an important exponent of Italian Symbolism
.
Bistolfi was born in Casale Monferrato
in Piedmont
, north-west Italy, to Giovanni Bistolfi, a sculptor in wood, and to Angela Amisano.
In 1876 he enrolled in the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera in Milan
, where his teacher was Giosuè Argenti. In 1880 he studied under Odoardo Tabacchi at the Accademia Albertina in Turin
.
His first works (Le lavandaie (‘The Washerwomen’), Tramonto (‘Sunset’), Vespero (‘Evening’), Boaro (‘Cattle-hand’), Gli amanti (‘The Lovers’)), executed between 1880 and 1885, show the influence of the Milanese Scapigliatura
. In 1882 he sculpted L'Angelo della morte (‘The Angel of Death’) for the Brayda tomb in the Turin cemetery known as the Cimitero Monumentale, and in 1883 he produced a bust of the painter Antonio Fontanesi for the Accademia Albertina: these works show a turn towards Symbolism which the artist was never to abandon.
From this time until 1914 Bistolfi produced many bust
s, medal
s and portraits of prominent figures including the Piedmontese painter Lorenzo Delleani
, the kings of Italy Vittorio Emanuele II and Umberto I, the criminologist Cesare Lombroso
, the writer Edmondo De Amicis
, and the publisher and journalist Emilio Treves.
In the early 1890s he was made an honorary member of the Accademia Albertina and became secretary of the Circolo degli Artisti (‘Artists’ Circle’).
In 1892 he began a two year task of decorating Chapel XVI of the Sacro Monte di Crea
, one of the Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy which are recognised as UNESCO
World Heritage Site
s.
In 1893 he married Maria Gusberti.
Also during the years 1892–1908 Bistolfi executed numerous funerary monuments (statue
s and relief
s), including the memorial plaque for André Gladis.
In 1902, along with Davide Calandra
, Giorgio Ceragioli
, Enrico Reycend and Enrico Thovez, he founded the magazine L'arte decorativa moderna (‘Modern Decorative Art’). During the years 1895–1905 he exhibited at a number of editions of the Venice Biennale
.
In 1906 he produced a monument to the painter Giovanni Segantini
La bellezza liberata dalla materia (‘Beauty liberated from matter’) known also as L'alpe (‘the Alp’), which is conserved at the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna in Rome.
For the Monument of Vittorio Emanuele II
in Rome Bistolfi produced the marble group Il sacrificio (‘Sacrifice’).
In 1923 he was made a Senatore del Regno (Senator of the Kingdom).
In 1928 Bistolfi produced the Monumento ai Caduti (war memorial) for Casale Monferrato.
Bistolfi died at La Loggia
, in the province of Turin
, on 2 September 1933. He was interred in the cemetery of Casale Monferrato.
His work is exhibited at La Loggia, at the Musée d'Orsay
in Paris, at the The National Museum of Western Art
in Tokyo, and at the Galleria d'Arte Moderna in Turin. The largest collection, however is at the Gipsoteca “Leonardo Bistolfi” in Casale Monferrato, where more than 170 of his works are on display in five rooms. These include drawings and sketches as well as works and bozzetti in terracotta, plasticine, and gesso
and some sculptures in marble and bronze.
Sculpture by Bistolfi is also to be found in the Cimitero monumentale di Staglieno of Genoa
, a town where his influence was seen in the work of a number of sculptors, particularly those specializing in funerary art
.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
sculptor, an important exponent of Italian Symbolism
Symbolism (arts)
Symbolism was a late nineteenth-century art movement of French, Russian and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts. In literature, the style had its beginnings with the publication Les Fleurs du mal by Charles Baudelaire...
.
Bistolfi was born in Casale Monferrato
Casale Monferrato
Casale Monferrato, population 36,058, is a town and comune in the Piedmont region of north-west Italy, part of the province of Alessandria. It is situated about 60 km east of Turin on the right bank of the Po, where the river runs at the foot of the Montferrato hills. Beyond the river lies the...
in Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
, north-west Italy, to Giovanni Bistolfi, a sculptor in wood, and to Angela Amisano.
In 1876 he enrolled in the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, where his teacher was Giosuè Argenti. In 1880 he studied under Odoardo Tabacchi at the Accademia Albertina in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
.
His first works (Le lavandaie (‘The Washerwomen’), Tramonto (‘Sunset’), Vespero (‘Evening’), Boaro (‘Cattle-hand’), Gli amanti (‘The Lovers’)), executed between 1880 and 1885, show the influence of the Milanese Scapigliatura
Scapigliatura
Scapigliatura is the name of the artistic movement which developed in Italy after the period known as Risorgimento,...
. In 1882 he sculpted L'Angelo della morte (‘The Angel of Death’) for the Brayda tomb in the Turin cemetery known as the Cimitero Monumentale, and in 1883 he produced a bust of the painter Antonio Fontanesi for the Accademia Albertina: these works show a turn towards Symbolism which the artist was never to abandon.
From this time until 1914 Bistolfi produced many bust
Bust (sculpture)
A bust is a sculpted or cast representation of the upper part of the human figure, depicting a person's head and neck, as well as a variable portion of the chest and shoulders. The piece is normally supported by a plinth. These forms recreate the likeness of an individual...
s, medal
Medal
A medal, or medallion, is generally a circular object that has been sculpted, molded, cast, struck, stamped, or some way rendered with an insignia, portrait, or other artistic rendering. A medal may be awarded to a person or organization as a form of recognition for athletic, military, scientific,...
s and portraits of prominent figures including the Piedmontese painter Lorenzo Delleani
Lorenzo Delleani
Lorenzo Delleani was an Italian painter.-Biography:A pupil of Cesare Gamba and Carlo Arienti at the Albertina Academy in Turin, Delleani worked initially in the field of history painting and received various marks of official recognition...
, the kings of Italy Vittorio Emanuele II and Umberto I, the criminologist Cesare Lombroso
Cesare Lombroso
Cesare Lombroso, born Ezechia Marco Lombroso was an Italian criminologist and founder of the Italian School of Positivist Criminology. Lombroso rejected the established Classical School, which held that crime was a characteristic trait of human nature...
, the writer Edmondo De Amicis
Edmondo De Amicis
Edmondo De Amicis was an Italian novelist, journalist, poet and short-story writer. His best-known book is the children's novel Heart.-Early career:...
, and the publisher and journalist Emilio Treves.
In the early 1890s he was made an honorary member of the Accademia Albertina and became secretary of the Circolo degli Artisti (‘Artists’ Circle’).
In 1892 he began a two year task of decorating Chapel XVI of the Sacro Monte di Crea
Sacro Monte di Crea
The Sacro Monte di Crea is a Roman Catholic sanctuary in the comune of Serralunga di Crea, Piedmont, northern Italy...
, one of the Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy which are recognised as UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
s.
In 1893 he married Maria Gusberti.
Also during the years 1892–1908 Bistolfi executed numerous funerary monuments (statue
Statue
A statue is a sculpture in the round representing a person or persons, an animal, an idea or an event, normally full-length, as opposed to a bust, and at least close to life-size, or larger...
s and relief
Relief
Relief is a sculptural technique. The term relief is from the Latin verb levo, to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is thus to give the impression that the sculpted material has been raised above the background plane...
s), including the memorial plaque for André Gladis.
In 1902, along with Davide Calandra
Davide Calandra
Davide Calandra was an Italian sculptor and cabinet maker.-Biography:Davide Calandra was born in Turin into a wealthy family...
, Giorgio Ceragioli
Giorgio Ceragioli (sculptor)
Giorgio Ceragioli was an Italian painter and sculptor.-Biography:Ceragioli was born in Porto Santo Stefano on April the 21st 1861 from Giuseppe Ceragioli, a customs officer, and Fanny Bracci...
, Enrico Reycend and Enrico Thovez, he founded the magazine L'arte decorativa moderna (‘Modern Decorative Art’). During the years 1895–1905 he exhibited at a number of editions of the Venice Biennale
Venice Biennale
The Venice Biennale is a major contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years in Venice, Italy. The Venice Film Festival is part of it. So too is the Venice Biennale of Architecture, which is held in even years...
.
In 1906 he produced a monument to the painter Giovanni Segantini
Giovanni Segantini
Giovanni Segantini was an Italian painter known for his large pastoral landscapes of the Alps. He was one of the most famous artists in Europe in the late 19th century, and his paintings were collected by major museums. In later life he combined a Divisionist painting style with Symbolist images...
La bellezza liberata dalla materia (‘Beauty liberated from matter’) known also as L'alpe (‘the Alp’), which is conserved at the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna in Rome.
For the Monument of Vittorio Emanuele II
Monument of Vittorio Emanuele II
The Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II or Altare della Patria or "Il Vittoriano" is a monument built to honour Victor Emmanuel, the first king of a unified Italy, located in Rome, Italy. It occupies a site between the Piazza Venezia and the Capitoline Hill...
in Rome Bistolfi produced the marble group Il sacrificio (‘Sacrifice’).
In 1923 he was made a Senatore del Regno (Senator of the Kingdom).
In 1928 Bistolfi produced the Monumento ai Caduti (war memorial) for Casale Monferrato.
Bistolfi died at La Loggia
La Loggia
La Loggia is a comune in the Province of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 11 km south of Turin....
, in the province of Turin
Province of Turin
The Province of Turin is a province in the Piedmont region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Turin.It has an area of 6,830 km², and a total population of 2,277,686 . There are 315 comuni in the province – the most of any province in Italy...
, on 2 September 1933. He was interred in the cemetery of Casale Monferrato.
His work is exhibited at La Loggia, at the Musée d'Orsay
Musée d'Orsay
The Musée d'Orsay is a museum in Paris, France, on the left bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, an impressive Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French art dating from 1848 to 1915, including paintings, sculptures, furniture,...
in Paris, at the The National Museum of Western Art
The National Museum of Western Art
The is the premier public art gallery in Japan specializing in art from the Western tradition.The Museum is located in the museum and zoo complex in Ueno Park in Taito, central Tokyo. This popular Tokyo museum is also known by the English acronym NMWA .-NMWA history:The NMWA was established on...
in Tokyo, and at the Galleria d'Arte Moderna in Turin. The largest collection, however is at the Gipsoteca “Leonardo Bistolfi” in Casale Monferrato, where more than 170 of his works are on display in five rooms. These include drawings and sketches as well as works and bozzetti in terracotta, plasticine, and gesso
Gesso
Gesso is a white paint mixture consisting of a binder mixed with chalk, gypsum, pigment, or any combination of these...
and some sculptures in marble and bronze.
Sculpture by Bistolfi is also to be found in the Cimitero monumentale di Staglieno of Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, a town where his influence was seen in the work of a number of sculptors, particularly those specializing in funerary art
Funerary art
Funerary art is any work of art forming, or placed in, a repository for the remains of the dead. Tomb is a general term for the repository, while grave goods are objects—other than the primary human remains—which have been placed inside...
.
Further reading
- Biografia di Leonardo Bistolfi , from the site of the Comune di La Loggia.
- Site of the Gipsoteca “Leonardo Bistolfi”
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