Emilio Vedova (9 August 1919 – 25 October 2006) was a

modern Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosophy ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

. He is considered one of the most important artists to emerge from Italy's artistic scene,

Arte Informale Arte Informale is a term coined in 1950 by the French critic Michel Tapié to refer to the art movement that began during the mid-1940s in post-World War II Europe. This movement also paralleled the Abstract Expressionism movement that was taking pl ...

Early life

Vedova was born in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

into a working-class family. His artisan roots came from his house-painting father. He was the third child out of seven. Emilio began working at a young age, primarily in a factory. Later he got a job in a photography and restoration studio.

Career

He was primarily a self-taught artist aside from a few night classes. After an initial formative experience within

Expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it ra ...

, he joined the group "

Corrente The ''courante'', ''corrente'', ''coranto'' and ''corant'' are some of the names given to a family of triple metre dances from the late Renaissance and the Baroque era. In a Baroque dance suite an Italian or French courante is typically paired ...

" (1942–1943), during the

second world war World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, which included other artists such as

Renato Guttuso Renato Guttuso (26 December 1911 – 18 January 1987) was an Italian painter and politician. His best-known works include ''Flight from Etna'' (1938–39), ''Crucifixion'' (1941) and ''La Vucciria'' (1974). Guttuso also designed for the theatre ( ...

and

Renato Birolli Renato Birolli (10 December 1905 – 3 May 1959) was an Italian painter. Biography Birolli was born at Verona to a family of industrial workers. In 1923 he moved to Milan where he formed an avantguardist group with artists such as Renato Guttus ...

. He recorded his experience in his drawings. During this time he also participated in the

Italian resistance movement The Italian resistance movement (the ''Resistenza italiana'' and ''la Resistenza'') is an umbrella term for the Italian resistance groups who fought the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and the fascist collaborationists of the Italian Socia ...

. Vedova returned to Venice towards the end of the war and played a key role in the post-war Italian art movement, which was connecting to the European

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretica ...

. His work became much more abstract. His images represented the apprehension of the time, with his geometric shapes and color palette. In 1946 he co-signed the manifesto "Beyond Guernica" which included several Italian artists who were to become famous. In 1947 Vedova founded

Fronte Nuovo delle Arti Fronte Nuovo delle Arti was an Italian artistic movement active in Venice, Rome and Milan in the years following WWII (1946 to 1950). It is considered to be part of the post-cubism movement. History "Fronte Nuovo delle Arti" was founded in Sep ...

. In 1951, Vedova exhibited his first solo show in the United States at the Catherine Viviano Gallery located in New York. This show was where he began to attract big name collectors, such as

Peggy Guggenheim Marguerite "Peggy" Guggenheim ( ; August 26, 1898 – December 23, 1979) was an American art collector, bohemian and socialite. Born to the wealthy New York City Guggenheim family, she was the daughter of Benjamin Guggenheim, who went down with ...

. In 1952 he became a member of the influential and more avant garde ''Gruppo degli Otto'' (

Afro The afro is a hair type created by natural growth of kinky hair, or specifically styled with chemical curling products by individuals with naturally curly or straight hair.Garland, Phyl"Is The Afro On Its Way Out?" ''Ebony'', February 1973. ...

, Birolli,

Corpora Corpus is Latin for "body". It may refer to: Linguistics * Text corpus, in linguistics, a large and structured set of texts * Speech corpus, in linguistics, a large set of speech audio files * Corpus linguistics, a branch of linguistics Music * ...

, Santomaso, Morlotti, Vedova, Moreni, and Turcato), organized by the critic Lionello Venturi, which exhibited at the Venice Biennial. This show is known to have begun the art movement recognized as

. His work exerted a significant influence on the Arte Povera group. .n.(20 November 2006)
Emilio Vedova
(obituary). ''The Telegraph''. Accessed July 2013. He later established a fruitful cooperation with composer

Luigi Nono Luigi Nono (; 29 January 1924 – 8 May 1990) was an Italian avant-garde composer of classical music. Biography Early years Nono, born in Venice, was a member of a wealthy artistic family; his grandfather was a notable painter. Nono beg ...

, designing sets and costumes for the opera ''

Intolleranza 1960 ''Intolleranza 1960'' (''Intolerance 1960'') is a one-act opera in two parts (''azione scenica in due tempi'') by Luigi Nono, and is dedicated to his father-in-law, Arnold Schoenberg. The Italian libretto was written by Nono from an idea by Angelo ...

''. In 1984 he designed a highly original light setting for Nono's opera '' Prometeo'' at

La Fenice Teatro La Fenice (, "The Phoenix") is an opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of "the most famous and renowned landmarks in the history of Italian theatre" and in the history of opera as a whole. Especially in the 19th century, La Fenice bec ...

. Nono dedicated his first work for magnetic tape ''Omaggio a Vedova'' (1960) to Vedova. Vedova had a number of gallery and museum exhibitions, at places like the

Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna The ("national gallery of modern and contemporary art"), also known as La Galleria Nazionale, is an art gallery in Rome, Italy. It was founded in 1883 on the initiative of the then Minister Guido Baccelli and is dedicated to modern and contempora ...

in Rome and the

Peggy Guggenheim Collection The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is an art museum on the Grand Canal in the Dorsoduro ''sestiere'' of Venice, Italy. It is one of the most visited attractions in Venice. The collection is housed in the , an 18th-century palace, which was the home ...

in Venice.

Alain Chivilò Alain Chivilò is an Italian contemporary art curator, critic and writer based in Venice and Milan. He began his studies on art during childhood with lessons held by Master Eugenio Da Venezia, starting around a post-impressionistic figurative way ...

(2008)
Vedova Emilio
eugeniodavenezia.eu. Accessed July 2013. His work has proven to be very successful in auctions. Vedova spent most of his life in Venice, where he taught at the

Accademia di Belle Arti This is a list of the tertiary-level schools or academies of fine art in Italy that are recognised by the Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Università e della Ricerca, the Italian ministry of higher education. Accademie di Belle Arti The offic ...

Awards

Vedova's offerings to art were acknowledged through awards and solo shows. *In 1951 at the first

São Paulo Biennial SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U. ...

, he was awarded the prize for young painters. *In 1956 he won a Guggenheim International award. *In 1960 at the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

, he received the Grand Prize for painting.

References

External links

Fondazione Emilio e Annabianca Vedova
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vedova, Emilio 1919 births 2006 deaths 20th-century Italian painters 20th-century Italian male artists 21st-century Italian painters Italian contemporary artists Italian male painters Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia faculty 21st-century Italian male artists