Pietro Annigoni
Encyclopedia
Pietro Annigoni was an Italian portrait and fresco painter, who became world famous after painting Queen Elizabeth II in 1956.
in 1910, Annigoni was a painter who was influenced by the Italian Renaissance.
From the end of the 1920s on, he lived mainly in Florence where he studied at the College of the Piarist Fathers.
In 1927, he was admitted to the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, where he attended the courses given by Felice Carena
in painting, Giuseppe Graziosi in sculpture, and Celestino Celestini in etching. Annigoni enrolled in the nude class run by the Florentine Circolo degli Artisti, while attending the open class in the same subject at the Academy.
Annigoni exhibited his work for the first time in Florence in 1930 with a group of painters. He had his first individual exhibition two years later, in 1932 at the Bellini Gallery in the Palazzo Ferroni.
In 1932, journalist Ugo Ojetti featured Annigoni in the Arts section of the Corriere della Sera
. Also in 1932, he won the Trentacoste prize.
, overlooking his beloved Florence.
In March 1949, the Committee of the Royal Academy in England accepted the works Annigoni offered for its annual exhibition. It was the artist's first experience with England and the beginning of a success which was to acquire worldwide dimensions.
portraiture, and was in contrast to the modernist and post-modernist artistic styles that dominated the middle and late twentieth century.
Pietro Annigoni was acclaimed and addressed by those who knew him and by art lovers from the US and Europe as Maestro.
He was famed for his romantic portrayal of the young Queen Elizabeth II
in 1956.
Annigoni is also known for his portraits of Pope John XXIII
, US Presidents John F. Kennedy
and Lyndon B. Johnson
, the Shah and Empress of Iran, Princess Margaret and several other members of the British royal family.
Pietro Annigoni was chosen by TIME
magazine to paint President of the United States
John F. Kennedy
for the (January 5) 1962 Person of the Year
cover. The result was perhaps his worst portrait as Kennedy would not sit still and Annigoni had no time or inclination to satisfy Time magazine. Other TIME magazine covers that featured portraits by Annigoni were the issues of October 5, 1962 (Pope John XXIII), November 1, 1963 (Ludwig Erhard
), and April 12, 1968 (Lyndon B. Johnson
).
Other subjects around the world that Annigoni painted include the shoemaker Salvatore Ferragamo
, Florentine author Luigi Ugolini
, ballet
legend Dame Margot Fonteyn
, American actress and poet Vanna Bonta
as a girl, and the Maharani Gayatri Devi
of Jaipur
.
Although he gained acclaim as a painter of royalty, Annigoni chose his subjects from a cross section of humanity, painting what interested him. He was not impressed by pomp and ceremony, and maintained relationships, never losing the common touch from his early days as a struggling artist.
An outspoken artist who did not refrain from iconoclasm
toward his perception of passing or superficial social trends, Annigoni wrote essays challenging modern art that disregarded the basic ability to draw. He alienated critics, who claimed his art was too representational, discounting the unique dramatic signature the artist brought to Renaissance tradition.
monastery south of Rome, that he worked on his largest fresco work of art, the dome of the monastery in 1980 at the age of 70 and took five years to complete it.
In October 2010, the Italian Post Office issued a stamp commemorating the centennial of Pietro Annigoni's birth.
Life
Born in MilanMilan
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 ,...
in 1910, Annigoni was a painter who was influenced by the Italian Renaissance.
From the end of the 1920s on, he lived mainly in Florence where he studied at the College of the Piarist Fathers.
In 1927, he was admitted to the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, where he attended the courses given by Felice Carena
Felice Carena
Felice Carena was an Italian painter.Born at Cumiana, he studied in the Turin's Art Academy; here he frequented Symbolist poets such as Arturo Graf and Giovanni Cena. In 1906 he moved to Rome and in 1912 he exposed his works at the Biennale di Venezia...
in painting, Giuseppe Graziosi in sculpture, and Celestino Celestini in etching. Annigoni enrolled in the nude class run by the Florentine Circolo degli Artisti, while attending the open class in the same subject at the Academy.
Annigoni exhibited his work for the first time in Florence in 1930 with a group of painters. He had his first individual exhibition two years later, in 1932 at the Bellini Gallery in the Palazzo Ferroni.
In 1932, journalist Ugo Ojetti featured Annigoni in the Arts section of the Corriere della Sera
Corriere della Sera
The Corriere della Sera is an Italian daily newspaper, published in Milan.It is among the oldest and most reputable Italian newspapers. Its main rivals are Rome's La Repubblica and Turin's La Stampa.- History :...
. Also in 1932, he won the Trentacoste prize.
Family
Annigoni was married to Anna Giuseppa Maggini in 1937 until her death of illness in July 1969. They had two children, Benedetto (1939) and Maria Ricciarda. In 1976 he married Rosella Segreto, also a favorite model of the artist.Death
In May 1988, Annigoni had emergency surgery due to a perforated ulcer, and he did not recover fully from the ailment. He was rushed to the hospital in Florence on October 27, 1988, and died of kidney failure on October 28, 1988. He is buried in the Porte Sante (Holy Doors) cemetery at the Basilica di San Miniato al MonteBasilica di San Miniato al Monte
San Miniato al Monte is a basilica in Florence, central Italy, standing atop one of the highest points in the city. It has been described as one of the finest Romanesque structures in Tuscany and one of the most beautiful churches in Italy. There is an adjoining Olivetan monastery, seen to the...
, overlooking his beloved Florence.
Controversy in tradition
Between 1945 to 1950, Annigoni produced a succession of important and very successful works. In 1947, he signed the manifesto of Modern Realist Painters. In this manifesto the group, which consisted of seven painters, came out in open opposition to abstract art and the various movements that had sprung up in Italy in these years. It was an insignificant detail in the painter's life but it would become a key points of reference in literature about him. Among others who signed the petition were Gregory Sciltian, and brothers Antonio and Xavier Bueno.In March 1949, the Committee of the Royal Academy in England accepted the works Annigoni offered for its annual exhibition. It was the artist's first experience with England and the beginning of a success which was to acquire worldwide dimensions.
Art exhibitions
Annigoni started showing his work internationally in the 1950s. In London, England, they were held at Wildenstein's (1950 and 1954), Agnew's (1952 and 1956), the Federation of British Artists (1961), the Upper Grosvenor Galleries (1966), and at many Royal Academy exhibitions. A special exhibition in Paris, France at the Galerie Beaux Arts was held in 1953. New York Wildenstein's showed Annigoni from 1957-58. By 1969, Annigoni's work was exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum in New York. Numerous Italian cities that showed Annigoni works during his life included Turin, Rome, Florence, Verona, Brescia, Montecatini Terme, Bergamo, Rovereto and Milan.World acclaim
His work bore the influence of Italian RenaissanceRenaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
portraiture, and was in contrast to the modernist and post-modernist artistic styles that dominated the middle and late twentieth century.
Pietro Annigoni was acclaimed and addressed by those who knew him and by art lovers from the US and Europe as Maestro.
He was famed for his romantic portrayal of the young Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
in 1956.
Annigoni is also known for his portraits of Pope John XXIII
Pope John XXIII
-Papal election:Following the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, Roncalli was elected Pope, to his great surprise. He had even arrived in the Vatican with a return train ticket to Venice. Many had considered Giovanni Battista Montini, Archbishop of Milan, a possible candidate, but, although archbishop...
, US Presidents John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
and Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
, the Shah and Empress of Iran, Princess Margaret and several other members of the British royal family.
Pietro Annigoni was chosen by TIME
Time
Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
magazine to paint President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
for the (January 5) 1962 Person of the Year
Person of the Year
Person of the Year is an annual issue of the United States newsmagazine Time that features and profiles a person, couple, group, idea, place, or machine that "for better or for worse, ...has done the most to influence the events of the year."- History :The tradition of selecting a Man of the Year...
cover. The result was perhaps his worst portrait as Kennedy would not sit still and Annigoni had no time or inclination to satisfy Time magazine. Other TIME magazine covers that featured portraits by Annigoni were the issues of October 5, 1962 (Pope John XXIII), November 1, 1963 (Ludwig Erhard
Ludwig Erhard
Ludwig Wilhelm Erhard was a German politician affiliated with the CDU and Chancellor of West Germany from 1963 until 1966. He is notable for his leading role in German postwar economic reform and economic recovery , particularly in his role as Minister of Economics under Chancellor Konrad Adenauer...
), and April 12, 1968 (Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
).
Other subjects around the world that Annigoni painted include the shoemaker Salvatore Ferragamo
Salvatore Ferragamo
Salvatore Ferragamo was a Florentine and Italian shoe designer. He worked with many Hollywood stars in the 1920s, before returning to Italy to found the eponymous company making unique hand-made footwear. His scientific and creative approach to shoes spawned many innovations such as the wedge heel...
, Florentine author Luigi Ugolini
Luigi Ugolini
Luigi Ugolini was an Italian writer. He is best known for his series of fictionalized biographies of Italian leaders in art and science, and for a volume of work that immortalizes traditions, values and ways of life of Tuscany and Florence...
, ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
legend Dame Margot Fonteyn
Margot Fonteyn
Dame Margot Fonteyn de Arias, DBE , was an English ballerina of the 20th century. She is widely regarded as one of the greatest classical ballet dancers of all time...
, American actress and poet Vanna Bonta
Vanna Bonta
Vanna Bonta is a novelist, poet and film actress best known as the author of Flight: A Quantum Fiction Novel the story about parallel dimensions featuring an amnesiac girl with no navel...
as a girl, and the Maharani Gayatri Devi
Gayatri Devi
Gayatri Devi , often styled as Maharani Gayatri Devi, Rajmata of Jaipur, was born as Princess Gayatri Devi of Cooch Behar...
of Jaipur
Jaipur
Jaipur , also popularly known as the Pink City, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. Founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, the city today has a population of more than 3.1 million....
.
Although he gained acclaim as a painter of royalty, Annigoni chose his subjects from a cross section of humanity, painting what interested him. He was not impressed by pomp and ceremony, and maintained relationships, never losing the common touch from his early days as a struggling artist.
An outspoken artist who did not refrain from iconoclasm
Iconoclasm
Iconoclasm is the deliberate destruction of religious icons and other symbols or monuments, usually with religious or political motives. It is a frequent component of major political or religious changes...
toward his perception of passing or superficial social trends, Annigoni wrote essays challenging modern art that disregarded the basic ability to draw. He alienated critics, who claimed his art was too representational, discounting the unique dramatic signature the artist brought to Renaissance tradition.
Church frescoes
Annigoni gave much time in his life to painting church frescoes in and around his Florence. It was at the Monte CassinoMonte Cassino
Monte Cassino is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, Italy, c. to the west of the town of Cassino and altitude. St. Benedict of Nursia established his first monastery, the source of the Benedictine Order, here around 529. It was the site of Battle of Monte Cassino in 1944...
monastery south of Rome, that he worked on his largest fresco work of art, the dome of the monastery in 1980 at the age of 70 and took five years to complete it.
Honors
On 14 November 1975 Annigoni was conferred the Cavaliere di Gran Croce Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana (OMRI)Italian orders of merit
There are five orders of knighthood awarded in recognition of service to the Italian Republic. Below these sit a number of other decorations, associated and otherwise, that do not confer knighthoods...
In October 2010, the Italian Post Office issued a stamp commemorating the centennial of Pietro Annigoni's birth.
Museums
Annigoni works are housed in museums worldwide. Museo Annigoni, a museum in Florence, Italy, houses sixty years of the master's work.- Museo Annigoni
- Uffizi Gallery and Pitti Palace in Florence, Italy
- Benedetta Bianchi PorroBenedetta Bianchi PorroBenedetta Bianchi Porro was a Christian blessed, born in Dovadola, Romagna.She became ill with polio during her teens....
Foundation in DovadolaDovadolaDovadola is a comune in the Province of Forlì-Cesena in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about 60 km southeast of Bologna and about 20 km southwest of Forlì, on the road leading to Florence....
(ForlìForlìForlì is a comune and city in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, and is the capital of the province of Forlì-Cesena. The city is situated along the Via Emilia, to the right of the Montone river, and is an important agricultural centre...
), Italy - Metropolitan Museum of ArtMetropolitan Museum of ArtThe Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
in New York - Indianapolis Museum of Art
- Fine Arts Museum of San Francsico
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
- Royal CollectionRoyal CollectionThe Royal Collection is the art collection of the British Royal Family. It is property of the monarch as sovereign, but is held in trust for her successors and the nation. It contains over 7,000 paintings, 40,000 watercolours and drawings, and about 150,000 old master prints, as well as historical...
of Windsor CastleWindsor CastleWindsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it... - National Portrait Gallery of London, England
- Vatican MuseumsVatican MuseumsThe Vatican Museums , in Viale Vaticano in Rome, inside the Vatican City, are among the greatest museums in the world, since they display works from the immense collection built up by the Roman Catholic Church throughout the centuries, including some of the most renowned classical sculptures and...
in RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Italy
Pietro Annigoni quotes
- "Impulse alone does not make a work of art."
- "The emotional states which a painter or other artist feels irresistibly forced to express are those most intimate states of mind and soul from which may be struck the spark of revelation, kindling a light that shows things in their deepest, most universal, and perhaps even eternal reality; this light we may call the light of poetry."
- "Life is the greatest teacher."
- "It is as if an artist had within himself a kind of refinery in which to process the raw material of his life, the personal and public experiences, memories, aspirations, everyday work, dreams, doubts, the disappointments and excitements of his pilgrimage through the chaotic labyrinth of the world, and that in doing so, he aims to find himself, to discover the outlines of his own being, to take that heap of desperate, elusive and often contradictory sensations, and forge them into a transcendent meaning."
- "I had recourse to a dictionary of synonyms, and there I found "deformed" in the company with such terms as "ugly, foul, loathsome, obscene," and read moreover that "to deform is to make something ugly in form."
- "I am convinced that the works of today's avant-garde are the poisoned fruit of a spiritual decadence, with all the consequences that arise from a tragic loss of love for life."
Students of Annigoni
- Annigoni on youtube
- John Michael Angel interview from movie Annigoni: Portrait of an Artist, interviews former students of Annigoni.
- Angel, Michael John (b. England 1946 - ) - Artist/Teacher and founder of Angel Academy of Art in Florence, Italy. Studied under Annigoni and considered a major figure in Classical Realism.
- Pistolesi, Silvestro (b. Florence, Italy 1943 - ) - Painter of landscape and frescos. Studied under Pietro Annigoni.
- Ciccone, Antonio (b. Puglia, Italy - ) - Paintings, drawings, portraits and frescos from Florence, America and the world. Studied under Pietro Annigoni.
- Anderson, Douglas (b. Scotland 1934 - ) -Portrait artist who studied under Pietro Annigoni and currently lives in Tuscany.
- DiPirro, Joni - Painter who studied under Pietro Annigoni. Studied at Academy of Florence, Italy.
- Falai, Luigi (b. Florence, Italy) - Teacher and painter of fresco. Studied under Pietro Annigoni in the 1970s.
- Guarnieri, Luciano (b Florence, Italy 1930 - ) - Lithographer and painter who studied under Pietro Annigoni.
- Long IV, Benjamin F. (b. North Carolina, USA 1945 - ) - Teacher and painter mostly known for his frescos. Studied under Pietro Annigoni. (James Daniel, student of Ben Long)
- Rosse, Nicholas St.John (b. London, England 1945 - ) - Artist in the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, the Royal West of England Academy and the Royal Society of Marine Artists. Studied under Pietro Annigoni for three years.
- Shanks, Nelson (b Bucks County, PA USA 1937 - ) - The most famous student to be produced by Annigoni. Teacher and portrait painter who studied at the Art's Student League and with Pietro Annigoni. Started the Studio Incamminati in Philadelphia, PA.
- Tosoni, Fiorello (b. Italy) - Portrait painter using the oil tempera technique learned from his study with Pietro Annigoni.
- White, Nelson Holbrook (b. New London, Connecticut 1932 - ) - Painter and long time apprentice of Pietro Annigoni. Both his father and grandfather where also consider famous American artists.
- Wraith, Robert (b. London, England) - Portrait painter who is part of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters in England. Studied under Pietro Annigoni. Known for pencil and charcoal drawings.
- Sara LeightonSara LeightonSara Leighton, is a famous English society portrait painter, author, actress and personality, also noted for her beauty.-Life and work:...
(b.1937 London, England) - Portrait painter who studied under Annigoni and who Annigoni labelled 'the most beautiful woman in the world.'
External links
- Annigoni: Portrait of an Artist - Award winning film on the life and times of Pietro Annigoni.
- Annigoni movie listing IMDB
- Annigoni: Portrait of an Artist movie, listed in Richard Crouse's new book
- Stefano Burbi: Suite dalle musiche per il film Annigoni
- Annigoni Gallery from the Gandy Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia
- Pietro Annigoni Gallery at MuseumSyndicate
- Pietro Annigoni official web site