Michele Tripisciano (13 July 1860 – 21 September 1913) was an Italian sculptor. He was born in

Caltanissetta Caltanissetta (Sicilian language, Sicilian: ''Cartanissètta)'' is an Italian comune with a population of 58,012 inhabitants, serving as the capital of the Province of Caltanissetta, free municipal consortium of Caltanissetta in Sicily. The earl ...

, the son of the potter Ferdinando Tripisciano and Calogera Falci. He started modelling clay when he was a child in his father's jags factory and in 1873 he was sent to study in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

at the St Michael Ospice thanks to the involvement of the baron Guglielmo Luigi Lanzirotti and Mr Pugliese. Between 1880 and 1888 he worked with Francesco Fabi Altini and in 1884 he obtained the silver medal at the

Accademia di San Luca The Accademia di San Luca () is an Italian academy of artists in Rome. The establishment of the Accademia de i Pittori e Scultori di Roma was approved by papal brief in 1577, and in 1593 Federico Zuccari became its first ''principe'' or director; ...

for his work ''Caio Mario sulle rovine di Cartagine'' (Gaius Marius on the ruins of Carthage). He lived in Rome for many years and then returned to his home town when he died at the age of 53 because of a bronchopneumonia. In 1900, he received the Knight's Cross from king

Umberto I of Italy Umberto I (; 14 March 1844 – 29 July 1900) was King of Italy from 9 January 1878 until his assassination in 1900. His reign saw Italy's expansion into the Horn of Africa, as well as the creation of the Triple Alliance (1882), Triple Alliance a ...

and in 1912 he was awarded a Knight's Cross of the

Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus The Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus () (abbreviated OSSML) is a Roman Catholic dynastic order of knighthood bestowed by the royal House of Savoy. It is the second-oldest order of knighthood in the world, tracing its lineage to AD 1098, a ...

Vittorio Emanuele III di Savoia Victor Emmanuel III (; 11 November 1869 – 28 December 1947) was King of Italy from 29 July 1900 until his abdication on 9 May 1946. A member of the House of Savoy, he also reigned as Emperor of Ethiopia from 1936 to 1941 and King of the Albania ...

Life and work

Tripisciano opened his own sculpting workshop and created mythic sculptures getting inspiration from both religious and historical subjects. He got orders for churches and memorials and after winning some competitions he worked on international basis. His work, which was influenced by Francesco Fabi Altini, exemplifies

neoclassicism Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative arts, decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiq ...

together and with that of such contemporaries as

Ettore Ximenes Ettore Ximenes (11 April 1855 20 December 1926) was an Italian sculptor. Biography Ettore Ximenes was born 11 April 1855 in Palermo, Italy. Son of Antonio Ximenes and Giulia Tolentino, a Sicilian noble woman, Ettore Ximenes initially embarked o ...

, Nicola Civiletti,

Domenico Trentacoste Domenico Trentacoste (20 September 1859 – 18 March 1933) was an Italian sculptor. Biography Born in Palermo, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies; at the age of 12 years, Trentacoste began apprenticing with the sculptor Domenico Costantino. As a you ...

and

Mario Rutelli Mario Rutelli (Palermo, Sicily, 4 April 1859 – 1941) was an Italian sculptor. Biography From a native British family which long ago moved from France (Roudelle at first) and then to Genoa’s Republic with capt. sir G. Roudello de’ Mari d ...

, also of contemporary

Romano Vio Romano Vio (February 11, 1913 – August 23, 1984) was an Italian sculptor. He was born in Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a grou ...

, Francesco Biangardi,

Giovanni Duprè Giovanni may refer to: * Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname * Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data * ''Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend of ...

Luigi Fontana Luigi Fontana (9 February 1827 – 27 December 1908) was an Italian sculptor, painter and architect. Biography He was born at Monte San Pietrangeli in the Marche. He first began training between 1838 and 1841 at Macerata under Gaetano Ferri; the ...

, Giovanni Scarfì and others.

Galleries holding his work

A museum dedicated to Tripisciano
''Museo Tripisciano''
, located in the Palazzo Moncada on Largo Barile in Caltanissetta, displays many works, mostly stucco models, from the sculptor donated to the town. Among these is a work in marble, ''Orfeo''. This work is different from the previous ones from the same author because of the particular introspective analysis on the subject.

List of selected works

Gioacchino_belli.JPG, Statue of

Belli The Belli, also designated Beli or Belaiscos, were an ancient pre-Roman CelticCremin, ''The Celts in Europe'' (1992), p. 57. Celtiberian people who lived in the modern Spanish province of Zaragoza from the 3rd Century BC. Origins Apparently ...

File:Fontana Tritone.jpg,

Triton Triton commonly refers to: * Triton (mythology), a Greek god * Triton (moon), a satellite of Neptune Triton may also refer to: Biology * Triton cockatoo, a parrot * Triton (gastropod), a group of sea snails * ''Triton'', a synonym of ''Triturus' ...

Fountain in Marino File:Statua di Umberto I a Caltanissetta di Michele Tripisciano 01.JPG, Statue of

File:Il padre Ferdinando in gesso esposto nel Museo Tripisciano di Palazzo Moncada a Caltanissetta 2.JPG, Plaster bust of his father Ferdinand exhibited in the Museum Tripisciano of Palazzo Moncada in Caltanissetta File:Ritratto Scarabelli.jpg, Portrait of Scarabelli in Caltanissetta File:Michele Tripisciano - L'angelo della Tomba Testasecca di Caltanissetta 1894.jpg, The angel of the Tomb of Testasecca in Caltanissetta of 1894 File:La pietà in gesso esposto nel Museo Tripisciano di Palazzo Moncada a Caltanissetta 12.JPG, Piety exhibited in the Museum Tripisciano of Palazzo Moncada in Caltanissetta

References

Sources

*Franco Spena,''Michele Tripisciano'' Archivio Nisseno Anno VII - N. 12 Gennaio-Giugno 2013 Ed. Società Nissena di Storia Patria Caltanissetta 2012 p. 30-179 ISSN 1974-3416 * * * * * * * *Calogero Scarlata, ''Pittura-Scultura-Arti Minori- Dizionario degli artisti presenti a Caltanissetta e nei Comuni della sua Provincia'', Edizione Lussografica di Caltanissetta 1999 *Daniela Vullo, ''Progetto Scuola Città. Schedatura delle emergenze architettoniche di Caltanissetta'', Regione Siciliana, Assessorato regionale dei beni Culturali ed Ambientali e della Pubblica Istruzione, Dipartimento Regionale Beni Culturali, Ambientali ed Educazione Permanente, Area Soprintendenza per i Beni Culturali ed Ambientali di Caltanissetta 2005 *Walter Guttadauria, ''Viaggio nell’arte di Rosone tra mostri, fontane, vescovi e anche madonne "brutte"'', La Sicilia 5 aprile 2009 *Walter Guttadauria, ''Ricerca di identità perdute per non dimenticare i personaggi del passato'', La Sicilia 24 maggio 2009

External links