Carlo Chiostri (5 May 1863, in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

– 9 July 1939, in Florence) was a self-taught Italian painter and graphic artist, best known for being one of the earliest illustrators for the book version of ''

The Adventures of Pinocchio ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' ( ; , i.e. "The Adventures of Pinocchio. Story of a Puppet"), commonly shortened to ''Pinocchio'', is an 1883 Children's literature, children's fantasy novel by Italian author Carlo Collodi. It is about the mischi ...

''.

Biography

He began working as an illustrator in the 1890s, primarily for the publishing houses of Adriano Salani Editore, and Casa Editrice Nerbini. His drawings for Pinocchio were done in pen and watercolor, then engraved on wood. His designs for ''Ciondolino'' (1896) by

Vamba Luigi Bertelli (19 March 1860 - 27 November 1920), best known as Vamba, was an Italian writer, illustrator and journalist. Biography Born in Florence, having completed his studies Bertelli became a railway employer, working first in Rimini and ...

, were made into

etching Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other type ...

s which were then "restituiti all'eleganza e alla grazia dell'originale" (returned to the elegance and grace of the original). He illustrated the works of many other well-known authors, including

Luigi Capuana Luigi Capuana (May 28, 1839 – November 29, 1915) was an Italian author and journalist and one of the main exponents of '' Verismo''. He was a contemporary of Giovanni Verga, both having been born in the province of Catania within a year of eac ...

, Emma Perodi,

Emilio Salgari Emilio Salgari (, but often erroneously ; 21 August 1862 – 25 April 1911) was an Italian writer of action adventure swashbucklers and a pioneer of science fiction. In Italy, his extensive body of work was more widely read than that of Dante ...

and Alberto Cioci (1867–1925), who wrote a sequel to Pinocchio called ''Lucignolo, l'amico di Pinocchio'' (Candlewick, Pinocchio's Friend). He also created drawings for ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

'' by

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

, and the complete works of Tommaso Catani, a priest and friend of

Carlo Collodi Carlo Lorenzini (; 24 November 1826 – 26 October 1890), better known by the pen name Carlo Collodi ( ; ), was an Italian author, humourist, and journalist, widely known for his fairy tale novel '' The Adventures of Pinocchio''. Early lif ...

, who wrote children's books and elementary school readers. For many years, he was a contributor to ''

Il giornalino della Domenica ''Il giornalino della Domenica'' was ‘the prototype of the modern periodical for children in Italy’.Katia Pizzi (paper presented at the 15th Biennial Congress of the International Research Society for Children's Literature, 2001). The magazin ...

''. ''The Journey of a Lead Soldier'', written by

Anna Franchi Anna Franchi (15 January 1867 – 4 December 1954) was an Italian novelist, translator, playwright and journalist. Biography Early life Franchi was born into the well-to-do Livorno family of Cesare Franchi, a merchant, and his wife Iginia R ...

and published by Salani in 1901, met with considerable success. In 1910, he wrote ''Il falco e la colomba: melanconie d'un Gatto bigio'' (The Falcon and the Dove: Melancholy of a Gray Cat). Later, he designed postcards.

Federico Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He is known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and ...

had this to say about Pinocchio and Chiostri: :"I loved this story as a child, of course, very much, but I like it even today. I sat quite sunk dreaming about it, staring at the melancholy, ghostly shapes of Carlo Chiostri. They underlined also the sad side of this book, its taste of the bad dream, that fever sick trembling."Gina Kehayoff and Christoph Stölzl, ''Topor, Tod und Teufel'' (exhibition catalog),

Munich Stadtmuseum The Munich Stadtmuseum (German: "Münchner Stadtmuseum") or Munich City Museum, is the city museum of Munich. It was founded in 1888 by Ernst von Destouches. It is located in the former municipal arsenal and stables, both buildings of the late ...

(1985)

References

External links

Carlo Chiostri, self-portrait
@ Cultura Italia
Postcards and related items by Chiostri
@ Delcampe.
Arcadja Auctions: More works by Chiostri.
"The Art-Deco Mermaids of Carlo Chiostri" * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chiostri, Carlo 19th-century Italian illustrators 20th-century Italian illustrators 1863 births 1939 deaths Italian children's book illustrators Postcard artists Artists from Florence Italian magazine illustrators 19th-century Italian painters 20th-century Italian painters

Biography

References

Further reading

External links