Pietro Canonica (1 March 1869 – 8 June 1959) was an Italian

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libre ...

composer, professor of arts and

senator for life A senator for life is a member of the senate or equivalent upper chamber of a legislature who has life tenure. , six Italian senators out of 206, two out of the 41 Burundian senators, one Congolese senator out of 109, and all members of the Brit ...

Biography

He was born in

Moncalieri Moncalieri (; pms, Moncalé ) is a town and ''comune'' of 56,134 inhabitants (31 January 2022) about directly south of downtown Turin (to whose Metropolitan City it belongs), in Piedmont, Italy. It is the most populous suburb of Turin and it is ...

, a town in the

Province of Turin The former Province of Turin ( it, Provincia di Torino; pms, Provinsa ëd Turin; french: Province de Turin) was a province in the Piedmont region of Italy. Its capital was the city of Turin. The province existed until 31 December 2014, when it wa ...

, northern Italy. His long and prestigious artistic career started at an early age when he became an assistant to at age ten. One year later, he was admitted to the Accademia Albertina di Belle Arti of Turin, where he was instructed by Enrico Gamba and Odoardo Tabacchi in making sculpture. He initially adhered to the traditions of Naturalism, with

Romantic Romantic may refer to: Genres and eras * The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries ** Romantic music, of that era ** Romantic poetry, of that era ** Romanticism in science, of that e ...

and

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...

influences, turned but later to Realism, without making concessions to the more

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

artistic tendencies of the 20th century. After World War II, Canonica devoted himself to more religious artworks. He gained big success in the official environment of Turin for his civic and religious monuments. Following the formative period in Turin, he moved in 1922 to Rome, and participated in important national and international exhibitions in Milan, Rome, Venice, Paris, London, Berlin, Dresden, Monaco, Brussels and Saint Petersburg, and received official recognition. Commissioned by Italian and foreign aristocracy in European courts, Canonica created portraits and commemorative works. The master of equestrian sculpture also produced medallic art. He was professor of sculpture at the

Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia The is a public tertiary academy of art in Venice, Italy. History The Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia was founded on 24 September 1750; the statute dates from 1756. The first director was Giovanni Battista Piazzetta; Gianbattista Tie ...

(1910) and later at the

Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma The Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma is a public tertiary academy of art in Rome, Italy. It was founded in the sixteenth century, but the present institution dates from the time of the unification of Italy and the capture of Rome by the Kingd ...

. He was in the first cadre of members named to the Royal Academy of Italy in 1929, and a member of the

Accademia Nazionale di San Luca The Accademia di San Luca (the "Academy of Saint Luke") 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 fi ...

(1930). In 1937, he managed to obtain the concession to renovate

Villa Borghese Villa Borghese or Villa Borghese Pinciana (' Borghese family{{!Borghese villa on the Pincian Hill') is the villa built by the architect Flaminio Ponzio (and, after his death, finished by his assistant Giovanni Vasanzio), developing sketches by Sc ...

, a 16th-century building owned by the City of Rome and used as administrative offices until it was abandoned in 1919 following a fire. In exchange of the promise to donate his artworks to the city, he was allowed to use the historical building as home and studio, which he repaired and decorated at his own expense. The unusual architectural construction within the

Villa Borghese gardens Villa Borghese is a landscape garden in Rome, containing a number of buildings, museums (see Galleria Borghese) and attractions. It is the third largest public park in Rome (80 hectares or 197.7 acres) after the ones of the Villa Doria Pamphili ...

, called also "La Fortezzuola", is a museum since 1961 dedicated to his name, exhibiting studies, models, sketches, casts and original works of the artist. His wife donated the valuable furnishings and paintings found in their private section after her death in 1987. Canonica was also an accomplished musician and composed the operas ''La sposa di Corinto'' (1918), ''Miranda'' (1937), ''Enrico di Mirval'', ''Impressioni'', ''Sacra Terra'' and ''Medea'' (1959). In 1950, Italian President Luigi Einaudi nominated him life senator for his outstanding artistic achievements. Canonica died on June 8, 1959, in Rome.

Gallery

Istanbul asv2021-10 img07 Taksim Monument.jpg, Monument of the Republic (Cumhuriyet Anıtı) in İstanbul, Turkey Artgate_Fondazione_Cariplo_-_Canonica_Pietro,_Ritratto_di_Vittorio_Emanuele_III.jpg, Vittorio Emanuele III, 1938 Khedive Ismail- El Raml-Alexandria1.jpg, Isma'il Pasha Statue in Alexandria, Egypt

Selected artwork

* Monument of an Artilleryman (marble and bronze, 1930) and a Cavalry soldier (bronze, 1923), both in Turin * Bust of King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

of England in Buckingham Palace, London, England (marble, 1903) * Bust of Donna Franca Florio (marble, 1903–1904) * Bust of princess Emily Doria-Pamphili in Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna, Rome (marble, 1904) * Monument to Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich, Saint Petersburg, Russia (1913, destroyed in 1918 during the revolution) * Model for the monument to

Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the te ...

Alexander II of Russia Alexander II ( rus, Алекса́ндр II Никола́евич, Aleksándr II Nikoláyevich, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ftɐˈroj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ; 29 April 181813 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Fin ...

on horseback in

Petrodvorets Petergof (russian: Петерго́ф), known as Petrodvorets () from 1944 to 1997, is a municipal town in Petrodvortsovy District of the federal city of St. Petersburg, located on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland. The town hosts ...

, Saint Petersburg, Russia (plaster, 1912–1914) * Monument to Atatürk on horseback in front of the Ankara Ethnography Museum, Ankara, Turkey (1927) * Monument to Atatürk in military uniform at Zafer Square, Ankara, Turkey (bronze and marble, 1927) * Monument to Atatürk on horseback at Cumhuriyet (Republic) Square, İzmir, Turkey (bronze and marble, 1927) * Monument of the Republic (Cumhuriyet Anıtı) at

Taksim Square Taksim Square ( tr, Taksim Meydanı, ), situated in Beyoğlu in the European part of Istanbul, Turkey, is a major tourist and leisure district famed for its restaurants, shops, and hotels. It is considered the heart of modern Istanbul, with the c ...

, Istanbul, Turkey (bronze and marble, 1928) * Monument to

Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (Ecclesiastical Latin, Latin: ''Benedictus XV''; it, Benedetto XV), born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, name=, group= (; 21 November 185422 January 1922), was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his deat ...

in St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican (bronze and marble, 1928) * Monument to

Khedive Ismail Isma'il Pasha ( ar, إسماعيل باشا ; 12 January 1830 – 2 March 1895), was the Khedive of Egypt and conqueror of Sudan from 1863 to 1879, when he was removed at the behest of Great Britain. Sharing the ambitious outlook of his grandf ...

, Alexandria, Egypt (1935) * Tomb of

Vittorio Emanuele Orlando Vittorio Emanuele Orlando (19 May 1860 – 1 December 1952) was an Italian statesman, who served as the Prime Minister of Italy from October 1917 to June 1919. Orlando is best known for representing Italy in the 1919 Paris Peace Conference with h ...

, Rome (1935) * Monument to

Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City from ...

in the

Lateran Palace The Lateran Palace ( la, Palatium Lateranense), formally the Apostolic Palace of the Lateran ( la, Palatium Apostolicum Lateranense), is an ancient palace of the Roman Empire and later the main papal residence in southeast Rome. Located on St. J ...

, Rome (marble, 1941–1949) * Monument to King

Faysal I of Iraq Faisal I bin Al-Hussein bin Ali Al-Hashemi ( ar, فيصل الأول بن الحسين بن علي الهاشمي, ''Faysal el-Evvel bin al-Ḥusayn bin Alī el-Hâşimî''; 20 May 1885 – 8 September 1933) was King of the Arab Kingdom of Syria ...

on horseback, Baghdad, Iraq * Monument to

Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24 July 1783 – 17 December 1830) was a Venezuelan military and political leader who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama and ...

, Bogotá, Colombia * Doors for the abbeys of

Monte Cassino Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley, Italy, west of Cassino and at an elevation of . Site of the Roman town of Casinum, it is widely known for its abbey, the first ho ...

(1951) and Casamari (1959) near Rome * "Il Tevere" fountain sculpture in the Centre William Rappard, Geneva, Switzerland (bronze, 1926)

Musical works

* ''La sposa di Corinto'', opera in 3 acts, libretto by Carlo Bernardi (after

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as t ...

), Rome,

Teatro Argentina The Teatro Argentina (directly translating to "Theatre Argentina") is an opera house and theatre located in Largo di Torre Argentina, a square in Rome, Italy. One of the oldest theatres in Rome, it was constructed in 1731 and inaugurated on 31 ...

, 25 May 1918 * ''Miranda'', opera in 3 acts, libretto by Carlo Bernardi and Pietro Canonica (after

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's '' The Tempest''), Teatro del Casinò Municipale di Sanremo, 5 March 1937 * ''Enrico di Mirval, ovvero Amore è vita'', opera, libretto by the composer, Sanremo, Teatro del Casinò Municipale, 1939 * ''Medea'', tragedia lirica in 3 acts, libretto by the composer, (after

Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars ...

), Rome,

Teatro dell'Opera di Roma The Teatro dell'Opera di Roma (Rome Opera House) is an opera house in Rome, Italy. Originally opened in November 1880 as the 2,212 seat ''Costanzi Theatre'', it has undergone several changes of name as well modifications and improvements. The p ...

, 12 May 1953 * ''Sacra Terra'', dramma lirico in 1 prologue and 3 acts, libretto by the composer (after

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...

's ''

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan_War#Sack_of_Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to ...

''), composed in 1957 * ''Impressioni'', symphonic poem

Bibliography

* Elena Lissoni
Pietro Canonica
online catalogu
Artgate
by

Fondazione Cariplo Fondazione Cariplo is a charitable foundation in Milan, Italy. It was created in December 1991 when the Amato law, Law no. 218 of 30 July 1990, came into force. Under this law, saving banks were required to separate into a not-for-profit foun ...

, 2010, CC BY-SA.

References

External links

* Francesco Negri Arnoldi
"Canonica, Pietro"
''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani'', Volume 18 (1975) (in Italian, accessed 5 October 2013) *
Museo Pietro Canonica website

City of Rome

Virtual Tourist

Who is who?

Art Net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Canonica, Pietro 1869 births 1959 deaths People from Moncalieri 19th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 20th-century Italian painters Realist artists Italian classical composers Italian male classical composers Italian opera composers Male opera composers Italian life senators Members of the Royal Academy of Italy Accademia Albertina alumni 20th-century Italian sculptors 20th-century Italian male artists Italian male sculptors 19th-century Italian male artists