Pietro Canonica

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Pietro Canonica
opera composer
MovementRealism
Patron(s)Enrico Gamba, Odoardo Tabacchi

Pietro Canonica (1 March 1869 – 8 June 1959) was an Italian

sculptor, painter, opera composer, professor of arts and senator for life
.

Biography

He was born in

Accademia Albertina di Belle Arti of Turin, where he was instructed by Enrico Gamba and Odoardo Tabacchi
in making sculpture.

He initially adhered to the traditions of

Realism, without making concessions to the more avant-garde
artistic tendencies of the 20th century. After World War II, Canonica devoted himself to more religious artworks.

He gained big success in the official environment of Turin for his civic and religious monuments. Following the formative period in Turin, he moved in 1922 to Rome, and participated in important national and international exhibitions in Milan, Rome, Venice, Paris, London, Berlin, Dresden, Monaco, Brussels and Saint Petersburg, and received official recognition. Commissioned by Italian and foreign aristocracy in European courts, Canonica created portraits and commemorative works. The master of

medallic art
.

He was professor of sculpture at the

Accademia Nazionale di San Luca
(1930).

In 1937, he managed to obtain the concession to renovate

Villa Borghese, a 16th-century building owned by the City of Rome and used as administrative offices until it was abandoned in 1919 following a fire. In exchange of the promise to donate his artworks to the city, he was allowed to use the historical building as home and studio, which he repaired and decorated at his own expense. The unusual architectural construction within the Villa Borghese gardens
, called also "La Fortezzuola", is a museum since 1961 dedicated to his name, exhibiting studies, models, sketches, casts and original works of the artist. His wife donated the valuable furnishings and paintings found in their private section after her death in 1987.

Canonica was also an accomplished musician and composed the operas La sposa di Corinto (1918), Miranda (1937), Enrico di Mirval, Impressioni, Sacra Terra and Medea (1959).

In 1950, Italian President Luigi Einaudi nominated him life senator for his outstanding artistic achievements. Canonica died on June 8, 1959, in Rome.[1]

Gallery

  • Monument of the Republic (Cumhuriyet Anıtı) in İstanbul, Turkey
    Monument of the Republic (Cumhuriyet Anıtı) in İstanbul, Turkey
  • Vittorio Emanuele III, 1938
    Vittorio Emanuele III, 1938
  • Isma'il Pasha Statue in Alexandria, Egypt
    Isma'il Pasha Statue in Alexandria, Egypt

Selected artwork

Musical works

Bibliography

References

  1. ^ "Biographical Sketch of Pietro Canonica | Museo Pietro Canonica a Villa Borghese". www.museocanonica.it. Retrieved 2022-09-16.

External links