Giuseppe Balbo (August 1, 1902 in

Bordighera Bordighera (; , locally ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Imperia, Liguria (Italy). Geography Bordighera is located from the land border between Italy and France, the French coast is visible from the town. Having the Capo Sant'Ampel ...

– December 26, 1980 in

Ventimiglia Ventimiglia (; , ; ; ) is a resort town in the province of Imperia, Liguria, northern Italy. It is located west of Genoa, and from the French-Italian border, on the Gulf of Genoa, having a small harbour at the mouth of the Roia river, w ...

) was an Italian painter.

Biography

Balbo was always attracted by the "magical world of painting". At age 14 in

Sanremo Sanremo, also spelled San Remo in English and formerly in Italian, is a (municipality) on the Mediterranean coast of Liguria, in northwestern Italy. Founded in Roman times, it has a population of 55,000, and is known as a tourist destination ...

he met the Pasquali brothers who introduced him to the world of sculpture. Being born in

he was interested in the artistic production of all painters who lived and worked in his hometown such as

Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, ; ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of Impressionism painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During his ...

, Pompeo Mariani Friederich von Kleudgen, Hermann Nestel,

Giuseppe Ferdinando Piana Giuseppe Ferdinando Piana (3 December 1864 - 29 April 1956) was an Italian painter. Life and career Piana shows from an early age a strong aptitude for painting. It was Ernest Meissonier who, during one of his stays in Bordighera at Villa Garn ...

, etc. To improve his training he attended the

Accademia Albertina The Accademia Albertina di Belle Arti ("Albertina Academy of Fine Arts") is an institution of higher education in Turin, Italy History In the first half of the seventeenth century, there was a "University of Painters, Sculptors and Architects" ...

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

and he had as professor Andrea Marchisio. His original style was heavily influenced by the

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

, although showing some elements of

cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement which began in Paris. It revolutionized painting and the visual arts, and sparked artistic innovations in music, ballet, literature, and architecture. Cubist subjects are analyzed, broke ...

. In 1924 he painted "Il soldato", confirming his membership in the

futurism Futurism ( ) was an Art movement, artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such as the ...

movement. In 1926 he was commissioned to create a painting for the Church of the Immaculate Conception or Terrasanta of Bordighera, entitled "Death of Saint Joseph". In those years, he met the sculptor

Adolfo Wildt Adolfo Wildt (1 March 1868 – 12 March 1931) was an Italian sculptor. He is mostly known for his marble sculptures, which blend simplicity and sophistication, and paved the way for numerous modernist sculptors. Early life Wildt was born in Mil ...

who had a very large impact on his painting. This influence can be perceived in his famous portrait on yellow background. Between 1931 and 1946 Balbo lived mainly in Africa, with a short stay in Italy and Paris, where he exhibited in 1938. In 1941 he was taken prisoner by the British in Kenya, and he learned English on this occasion. He returned in Bordighera only in 1946. After returning to his hometown he opened his workshop in Via Vittorio Emanuele 61 and after some time, in the same premises, an art school for "Sunday painters". In 1947, on the occasion of the return of the relics of Sant'Ampelio a

, he was commissioned to create a wax statue to contain the relics of the saint. This statue is still visible in the left nave of the St. Mary Magdalene Church. In 1950, he founded the painting prize "5 Bettole" and in 1952 he organized the first European exhibition of

Pollock Pollock or pollack (pronounced ) is the common name used for either of the two species of North Atlantic ocean, marine fish in the genus ''Pollachius''. ''Pollachius pollachius'' is referred to as "pollock" in North America, Ireland and the Unit ...

Arshile Gorky Arshile Gorky ( ; born Vostanik Manoug Adoian, ; April 15, 1904 – July 21, 1948) was an Armenian Americans, Armenian-American painter who had a seminal influence on Abstract Expressionism. He spent the last years of his life as a national of the ...

Man Ray Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitzky; August 27, 1890 – November 18, 1976) was an American naturalized French visual artist who spent most of his career in Paris. He was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealism, Surrealist movements, ...

with the works of

Guggenheim Museum The Guggenheim Museums are a group of museums in different parts of the world established (or proposed to be established) by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. Museums in this group include: * The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, Ne ...

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

spentwill spend a few days in Bordighera on the occasion of the exhibition. He died in

on 26 December 1980. His ashes are kept in the cemetery of Bordighera.

Giuseppe Balbo’s initiatives

In 1950 he created the painting prize "5 Bettole", which was also associated later to a literary prize. In 1951 he obtained from the municipality, a room in the Palazzo del Parco for a small school which then became a more ambitious project, the "Accademia Riviera" to which his name will be added later. On the occasion of renovations of the Palazzo del Parco in 1970, the academy moved to

in via Hanbury, but was then back to Bordighera in 1971.

Photo gallery

File:Statua di cera contenente le reliquie di Sant'ampelio, Chiesa Santa Maria Maddalena.jpg, Wax statue with the relics of Sant'Ampelio, Church of St. Mary Magdalen (Bordighera)

Bibliography

* "Jean Cocteau, Peggy Guggenheim e le mostre di pittura americana a Bordighera 1952-1957" by Leo Lecci, De Ferrari Editore (2004), 128 pp. with Cd-Rom. ASIN: B00EGMIOTW

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balbo, Giuseppe 1902 births 1980 deaths 20th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 20th-century Italian male artists