Aldo Raimondi (

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, 1902 -

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, 1997), was an Italian

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 ai ...

Biography

Born in Rome in 1902, Raimondi began his artistic career there in the studio of Giuseppe Signorini. He majored in architecture at the Academy of Fine Arts at the age of 22. Between 1925 and 1926 he lived in Milan, where he served in the Italian military; while there, he painted a

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

for a

barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...

, and restored some of the rooms of the

Palazzo Cusani A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

, home of the Command of the Army Corps. Raimondi moved to

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...

in 1926, and began to teach in the local Art Institute: there he inserted himself into a difficult environment without much effort, and was quickly befriended by the natives for his extraordinary dedication to his craft and the eye-catching qualities of his character. In Parma, he was commissioned by the mayor to paint some

watercolor Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

s of the view over the old city, still visible today in the Town Hall, which are proof of his skill as a landscape artist; Raimondi would receive other such commissions both in Italy and abroad later on. In Parma in 1930 he organized his first of many solo exhibitions, both in Italy and abroad. From 1938-40 he replaced Achille Beltrame as the illustrator of "Domenica del Corriere," and later was called to illustrate "The People of

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) 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 ...

." Specializing in watercolor painting, an exclusive piece of his repertoire, in 1939 he was appointed a professor of watercolors at the Academy of Brera, a chair he left immediately after the war to devote himself full-time to making

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

s. Later he painted landscapes, animals, flowers and many

portrait A portrait is a portrait painting, painting, portrait photography, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, Personality type ...

s, including those of the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

Pius XII Pius ( , ) Latin for "pious", is a masculine given name. Its feminine form is Pia. It may refer to: People Popes * Pope Pius (disambiguation) * Antipope Pius XIII (1918-2009), who led the breakaway True Catholic Church sect Given name * Pius B ...

John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...

(1958) and

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

(1966). He also produced some windows for the Seminary of

Monza Monza (, ; lmo, label=Lombard language, Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po River, Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capit ...

, for the parish of Menaggio in

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco dialect, Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and ...

, and the church of San Simpliciano in Milan.

Bibliography

* Catalogo online Artgate della Fondazione Cariplo, 2010, CC-BY-SA. * F. Pestellini, ''Aldo Raimondi e il romanzo dell'acquarello'', Florence, 1966. * A. Raimondi, ''La mia vita per l'acquarello'', Rome, 1979. * S. e S. Minardi, ''I cinque grandi dell'acquarello'', Milan, 1986. * Salvatore Minardi, ''Catalogo Generale'' Vol. 1, Milan, 1999. {{DEFAULTSORT:Raimondi, Aldo 20th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Academic staff of Brera Academy Painters from Rome Artists from Parma 1902 births 1997 deaths 20th-century Italian male artists