Carlo Wostry (18 February 1865, Trieste - 10 March 1943, Trieste) was an Italian painter and illustrator.

Youth and early career

Carlo Wostry was the son of Ferdinando Wostry, and a Virginia Artelli. From 1882 to 1885 he studied art at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. He then went on to study at the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich and befriended the painter :it:Umberto Veruda. After his return to Trieste in 1887, the 22-year-old Wostry created his first major work, ''Via Crucis'' (

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The station ...

), that was later acquired by the Jesuit church of :it:Chiesa di Santa Maria Maggiore (Trieste). In 1887 he received a scholarship for a two-year stay in Rome, but poor health prevented him from taking it up. He later travelled to Barcelona, Budapest and Russia, where his interest in

orientalism In art history, literature and cultural studies, Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects in the Eastern world. These depictions are usually done by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world. In particular, Orientalist p ...

was awakened. In 1896 he moved to Paris. for seven years he remained there, illustrating numerous publications and writing some articles, including some for Le Figaro. In 1897 he painted ''Christ and Mary Magdalene'' for Saint-Roch, Paris; he followed this in 1900 with the ''Martyrdom of St. Justus '' for

Trieste Cathedral Trieste Cathedral ( it, Basilica cattedrale di San Giusto Martire), dedicated to Saint Justus, is a Roman Catholic cathedral and the main church of Trieste, in northern Italy. It is the seat of the Bishop of Trieste. In 1899, Pope Leo XIII gran ...

. During a brief stay in London in 1902 his painting drew inspiration from the English masters of the 18th century. His most important work of this period is ''Scena Boschereccia'', that hangs today in the Revoltella Museum in Trieste. Returning to France, he spent time in Trouville-sur-Mer and Deauville as well as Paris. After Wostry returned to Trieste, he created on various works which were shown at international exhibitions such as the Biennale di Venezia (1907, 1910, 1920, 1922, 1924 and 1925). From 1916 he taught art at the ''Istituto Industriale'' in Trieste. He was an enthusiastic irredentist. In 1916, shortly after Italy entered the First World War he designed a medallion to commemorate the hoped-for future integration of Trieste with Italy. This was then hidden inside a sculpture of Penthesilea he was working on so that when the Austrian authorities searched his studio, they found nothing. When Austria-Hungary collapsed on 30 October 1918 he and his friend Sofianopulo ran up the hill to Trieste Cathedral, gained entry to the bell tower and rang the bells in celebration. He also published a series of satirical prints entitled ''The Martyrs of the Redemption: Austrian Trieste Under Italy''.

Later career

After the First World War he became more preoccupied with religious themes in his work, and created pieces for

Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, Paris The Church of Saint-Vincent-de-Paul (''Église Saint-Vincent-de-Paul'') is a church in the 10th arrondissement of Paris dedicated to Saint Vincent de Paul. It gives its name to the Quartier Saint-Vincent-de-Paul around it. It was built between 1 ...

, Sant'Antonio Nuovo in Trieste as well as the Basilica of San Francesco, Ravenna. In 1926 he travelled to the United States where he worked in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Miami. In 1930 Wostry was commissioned to work on St. Andrew's Church in Pasadena, and this was to become one of his most important projects. Originally commissioned only to make a mural for the apse, his clients were however so enthusiastic about his work that they entrusted to him the decoration of a side chapel and in 1932 with the representation of the

stations of the cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The station ...

. At the same time as he was working in the church, he was also commissioned to create murals for the home of Coralie Fitzharris-Milburn, also in Pasadena. Wostry returned to Trieste, where he prepared the 24 panels for the project, which were shipped to Pasadena in 1935. In 1937 Wostry suddenly returned to Trieste, where he died on 10 March 1943.

Selected works

Painting

* ''Stations of the Cross'', :it:Chiesa di Santa Maria Maggiore (Trieste), 1887 * ''Portrait of Pietro Sartorio'',

Museo Sartorio The Civico Museo Sartorio is a museum in Trieste, northern Italy. Set in an urban villa, it exhibits ceramics, majolica, porcelain and pictures, typical equipment of Trieste's villas at the end of the 19th century. Besides the villa itself being a ...

, Trieste, 1888 * ''Parco di villa Sartorio di Monebello'',

, Trieste * ''Il sonno'', Civici Musei di Storia ed Arte, Trieste * ''Christ and Mary Magdalene'', Saint-Roch, Paris, 1897 * ''Martyrdom of St. Justus'',

, 1900 * ''Portrait of Erma Bossi'' Sergio Vatta, Triester Künstler in München. Die Ausbildung einer Malerin, in Ausst. Kat.: Erma Bossi, Eine Spurensuche, Schloßmuseum Murnau 2013, p.34, p.115 * ''Scena Boschereccia'',

Museo Revoltella The Revoltella Museum ( it, Museo Revoltella) is a modern art gallery founded in Trieste in 1872 by Baron Pasquale Revoltella. The baron, after he left his house to the city (located in Piazza Venezia) and all the works, furniture and books it co ...

, Trieste, 1902 * ''The Stations of the Cross'', St. Andrew's Catholic Church, Pasadena, 1935

Books

* Carlo Wostry (1934): ''Storia del circolo artistico di Trieste'', Udine.

References

External links

More works by Wostry
@ ArtNet {{DEFAULTSORT:Wostry, Carlo 1865 births 1943 deaths Italian painters Artists from Trieste People from Austrian Littoral Italian Austro-Hungarians