Emilio Sala, also known as Elio Salya (Ukrainian: Еліо Саля; 30 April 1864, in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

– 10 January 1920, in Milan) was an Italian-born sculptor and painter who spent most of his working life in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

Biography

In 1890, he and his brother were invited to RussiaBrief biography
@ National Art Museum of Ukraine. to work on the

Moika Palace The Palace of the Yusupovs on the Moika (), known as the Moika Palace or Yusupov Palace, is a former residence of the Russian noble House of Yusupov in St. Petersburg, Russia, now a museum. The building was the site of Grigori Rasputin's murder ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. After two years of work there, he heard about the plans to build a new museum in Kyiv and offered his services. As Italian artists were very popular in the Russian Empire, he was accepted and began to create designs. From 1897 to 1905, he produced

griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (; Classical Latin: ''gryps'' or ''grypus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk ...

s and lions for what is now called the National Art Museum of Ukraine. During that project, he struck up a very fruitful working relationship with the architect Władysław Horodecki. He also designed various decorations for the Karaite Synagogue, the National Bank of Ukraine, St. Nicholas Roman Catholic Cathedral,

Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute The Kyiv Polytechnic Institute ( KPI, ; official full title National Technical University of Ukraine "Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute") is a National university, national public university, public technological university in Kyiv, Ukrain ...

and the National Opera of Ukraine. Unquestionably, though, his best known work is on the

House with Chimaeras House with Chimaeras (, ) or Horodetsky House (named for Władysław Horodecki) is an Art Nouveau building located in the Subdivisions of Kyiv#Historical neighborhoods, historic Lypky neighborhood of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. Situated across ...

(also designed by Horodecki); a flamboyant

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

-style building for which Sala created fantastical cement renderings of elephants, panthers, rhinoceroses, giant frogs and other exotic animals. In addition to his architectural work, he taught sculpture at an art school and a trade college. At the outbreak of World War I, he returned to Milan, where he died six years later. Lypky, Kyiv, Ukraine - panoramio - Wolodymyr Lavrynenko.jpg, Frogs and lotus flowers, House with Chimaeras, Kyiv, 1902 80-382-0014 Банкова, 10 (фрагмент).jpg, Woman and catfish, House with Chimaeras, Kyiv, 1902 Kyiv Old Things Museum Leon.JPG, Lion, National Art Museum, Kyiv, 1904 Kyiv, National Bank of Ukraine, decoration (1).jpg, Griffin, National Bank, Kyiv, 1905

References

External links

Arcadja Auctions: Small works by Sala.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sala, Emilio Art Nouveau sculptors 1864 births 1920 deaths 20th-century Italian sculptors 20th-century Italian male artists 19th-century Italian sculptors Italian male sculptors Russian male sculptors 19th-century Italian male artists Italian emigrants Immigrants to the Russian Empire