Oil on canvas.

Italian painter and printmaker. Born at Carpignano Sesia (Novara). Moved to Milan in 1941 and studied painting at the Brera Academy under Funi and Carr-32; became friendly with Cassinari and Morlotti. Joined the groups Numero and Pittura, and helped to edit their periodicals. Published etchings illustrating poems by Cesare Pavese 1947; first one-man exhibition at the Galleria della Bottega, Novara, 1948. After naturalistic beginnings, evolved c.1950-1 an abstract style influenced by the colours and light of Bonnard and by the structure of the Cubist pictures of Braque. Took studies from nature as his starting-point, but tried to capture the essence of natural forms bathed in light. Spent part of each year in the countryside of Piedmont, from which he drew inspiration. After 1960 his work started to become more figurative, with paintings of still life and shadowy nudes in interiors related to de Sta-21l and Bacon. Lives in Milan.

Published in:
Ronald Alley, Catalogue of the Tate Gallery's Collection of Modern Art other than Works by British Artists, Tate Gallery and Sotheby Parke-Bernet, London 1981, p.3

Tags:   giuseppe ajmone ajmone painter 20th century contemporary italian yellow flowers public collection abstract abstract expressionism

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Oil tempera on panel; 180 x 100 cm.

Annigoni was born in Milan. He studied at the Accademia delle Belle Arti in Florence, taking classes in painting, sculpture and engraving. Basing his style on the Italian old masters he studied their techniques, learning the art of 'oil tempera' under the Russian painter, Nikolai Lokoff. Initially Annigoni's success was limited to Italy where his sharply evocative landscapes were very popular. In 1947 along with Gregory Sciltian, the brothers Antonio and Xavier Bueno, and others, he signed the manifesto of the 'Modern Realist Painters', coming out in open opposition to abstract art. Alone among the signatories Annigoni remained true, both aesthetically and ethically to the doctrines of the manifesto.

His art was brought to the attention of the British public when, in March 1949, the Royal Academy accepted some of his works for the annual exhibition and the move from relative obscurity to instant recognition came in 1954 when he received a commission to paint the young Queen Elizabeth II. The commission from the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers brought instant fame. Crowds flocked to see the painting when it was exhibited at the Royal Academy in London and a limited-edition print published by The Times was fully subscribed. Sir Alfred Munnings, former President of the Royal Academy, declared Annigoni to be 'the greatest painter of the age'. This painting was followed by a portrait of the Duke of Edinburgh and another of Princess Margaret in 1957. In typical style the portrait is painted in immense detail, with the Princess depicted amongst the roses evocative of her name. The fabric of her cloak is reminiscent of the religious frescoes he painted as a younger man, imbuing the portrait with a magical, ethereal quality.

Annigoni remained a prominent artistic personality until his death in Florence in 1988, his paintings a powerful evocation of the great Renaissance tradition.

Tags:   pietro annigoni annigoni painter 20th century italian cinciarda public collection portrait figure figure portrait hat 1945 1940s

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Oil tempera on canvas; 35.5 x 45 cm.

Annigoni was born in Milan. He studied at the Accademia delle Belle Arti in Florence, taking classes in painting, sculpture and engraving. Basing his style on the Italian old masters he studied their techniques, learning the art of 'oil tempera' under the Russian painter, Nikolai Lokoff. Initially Annigoni's success was limited to Italy where his sharply evocative landscapes were very popular. In 1947 along with Gregory Sciltian, the brothers Antonio and Xavier Bueno, and others, he signed the manifesto of the 'Modern Realist Painters', coming out in open opposition to abstract art. Alone among the signatories Annigoni remained true, both aesthetically and ethically to the doctrines of the manifesto.

His art was brought to the attention of the British public when, in March 1949, the Royal Academy accepted some of his works for the annual exhibition and the move from relative obscurity to instant recognition came in 1954 when he received a commission to paint the young Queen Elizabeth II. The commission from the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers brought instant fame. Crowds flocked to see the painting when it was exhibited at the Royal Academy in London and a limited-edition print published by The Times was fully subscribed. Sir Alfred Munnings, former President of the Royal Academy, declared Annigoni to be 'the greatest painter of the age'. This painting was followed by a portrait of the Duke of Edinburgh and another of Princess Margaret in 1957. In typical style the portrait is painted in immense detail, with the Princess depicted amongst the roses evocative of her name. The fabric of her cloak is reminiscent of the religious frescoes he painted as a younger man, imbuing the portrait with a magical, ethereal quality.

Annigoni remained a prominent artistic personality until his death in Florence in 1988, his paintings a powerful evocation of the great Renaissance tradition.

Tags:   pietro annigoni annigoni painter 20th century italian 1946 1940s self-portrait artist portrait portrait realism hat public collection

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Annigoni was born in Milan. He studied at the Accademia delle Belle Arti in Florence, taking classes in painting, sculpture and engraving. Basing his style on the Italian old masters he studied their techniques, learning the art of 'oil tempera' under the Russian painter, Nikolai Lokoff. Initially Annigoni's success was limited to Italy where his sharply evocative landscapes were very popular. In 1947 along with Gregory Sciltian, the brothers Antonio and Xavier Bueno, and others, he signed the manifesto of the 'Modern Realist Painters', coming out in open opposition to abstract art. Alone among the signatories Annigoni remained true, both aesthetically and ethically to the doctrines of the manifesto.

His art was brought to the attention of the British public when, in March 1949, the Royal Academy accepted some of his works for the annual exhibition and the move from relative obscurity to instant recognition came in 1954 when he received a commission to paint the young Queen Elizabeth II. The commission from the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers brought instant fame. Crowds flocked to see the painting when it was exhibited at the Royal Academy in London and a limited-edition print published by The Times was fully subscribed. Sir Alfred Munnings, former President of the Royal Academy, declared Annigoni to be 'the greatest painter of the age'. This painting was followed by a portrait of the Duke of Edinburgh and another of Princess Margaret in 1957. In typical style the portrait is painted in immense detail, with the Princess depicted amongst the roses evocative of her name. The fabric of her cloak is reminiscent of the religious frescoes he painted as a younger man, imbuing the portrait with a magical, ethereal quality.

Annigoni remained a prominent artistic personality until his death in Florence in 1988, his paintings a powerful evocation of the great Renaissance tradition.

Tags:   pietro annigoni annigoni painter 20th century italian 1947 1940s landscape with figure public collection landscape still life fruit house realism

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Giacomo Balla was an Italian painter. Born in Turin, in the Piedmont region of Italy, the son of an industrial chemist, as a child Giacomo Balla studied music. At 9, he began working in a lithograph print shop. By age twenty his interest in art was such that he decided to study painting at local academies and exhibited several of his early works. Following academic studies at the University of Turin, Balla moved to Rome in 1895. For several years he worked in Rome as an illustrator and caricaturist as well as doing portraiture. In 1899 his work was shown at the Venice Biennale and in the ensuing years his art was on display at major Italian exhibitions in Rome and Venice, in Munich, Berlin and Düsseldorf in Germany as well as at the Salon d'Automne in Paris.

Influenced by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, Giacomo Balla adopted the Futurism style, creating a pictorial depiction of light, movement and speed. He was signatory to the Futurist Manifesto in 1910. He also taught Umberto Boccioni. In painting, his new style is demonstrated in the 1912 work titled Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash.
During World War I Balla's studio became the meeting place for young artists but by the end of the war the Futurist movement was showing signs of decline. In 1935 he was made a member of Rome's Accademia di San Luca.

Tags:   giacomo balla balla painter 20th century italian building house post impressionism

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