Federico Cerruti (1 January 1922 – 15 July 2015) was an Italian art collector whose collection was described by ''Artribune'' as one of the best in Europe. He told his retainers to arrange his funeral before his death became public in order to avoid the "useless gossiping and socialising crowd" attending.

Early life

Federico Cerruti was born in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

on 1 January 1922. His family were bookbinders who moved to Turin where the firm prospered despite its factory being destroyed by bombing during the Second World War. In 1943, Cerruti narrowly escaped death when a ship he should have been on, the battleship ''

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

'', was sunk by German aircraft. He had a sister, Andreina Anna Cerruti, with whom he shared the love for art. She died in Turin, on January 18, 2022, at the age of 98.

Career

Cerruti was brought up with a strong work ethic. He studied accountancy and expanded the family business of Legatoria Industriale Torinese to one of the largest bookbinders in Italy. The firm had the contract to bind the telephone directories of Italy. He lived above the office, and only slept at the villa he had built for him, once in 50 years.

Art collection

Cerruti's collection was described by ''Artribune'' as one of the best in Europe. It ranged from the Medieval period to works of the 20th Century. The first work he acquired was a drawing by the Russian

Expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

artist

Wassily Kandinsky Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky (; rus, Василий Васильевич Кандинский, Vasiliy Vasilyevich Kandinskiy, vɐˈsʲilʲɪj vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪtɕ kɐnʲˈdʲinskʲɪj; – 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter a ...

. He also owned ten works by modern Italian

Metaphysical Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...

and

Surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

artist

Giorgio de Chirico Giuseppe Maria Alberto Giorgio de Chirico ( , ; 10 July 1888 – 20 November 1978) was an Italian artist and writer born in Greece. In the years before World War I, he founded the '' scuola metafisica'' art movement, which profoundly influ ...

which hung in the dining room of his villa. In the main bedroom were late Medieval and early Renaissance paintings by

Paolo Veneziano Paolo Veneziano, also Veneziano Paolo or Paolo da Venezia (active by 1333, died after 1358) was a 14th-century painter from Venice, the "founder of the Venetian School" of painting, probably active between about 1321 and 1362.

Sassetta ''For the village near Livorno, see Sassetta, Tuscany'' Stefano di Giovanni di Consolo, known as il Sassetta (ca.1392–1450 or 1451) was an Tuscan painter of the Renaissance, and a significant figure of the Sienese School.Judy Metro, ''Italian ...

, and

Bergognone Ambrogio Borgognone (variously known as ''Ambrogio da Fossano'', ''Ambrogio di Stefano da Fossano'', ''Ambrogio Stefani da Fossano'' or as ''il Bergognone'' or ''Ambrogio Egogni''

. Cerruti often allowed his works to be shown at exhibitions and small groups of art lovers were allowed to view his collection. Appropriately, Cerruti also collected books in fine bindings. He owned the ''

Atlas Maior The ''Atlas Maior'' is the final version of Joan Blaeu's atlas, published in Amsterdam between 1662 and 1672, in Latin (11 volumes), French (12 volumes), Dutch (9 volumes), German (10 volumes) and Spanish (10 volumes), containing 594 maps and a ...

'' by

Joan Blaeu Joan Blaeu (; 23 September 1596 – 21 December 1673) was a Dutch cartographer born in Alkmaar, the son of cartographer Willem Blaeu. Life In 1620, Blaeu became a doctor of law but he joined the work of his father. In 1635, they published ...

in 12 volumes and an edition of ''À la recherche du temps perdu'' in an

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

design by

Pierre Legrain Pierre Legrain (18 February 1920 – 20 June 2005) was a French athlete. He competed in the men's hammer throw at the 1948 Summer Olympics and the 1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympis ...

Death

Cerruti died on 15 July 2015. He never married and left no descendants.Era il più importante collezionista d'arte d'Italia.
''Il Giornale Dell' Arte.Com'', 16 July 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2015. He was interred with an ivory crucifix and photographs of his mother and

Padre Pio Francesco Forgione, OFM Cap., better known as Padre Pio and as Saint Pius of Pietrelcina ( it, Pio da Pietrelcina; 25 May 188723 September 1968), was an Italian Franciscan Capuchin friar, priest, stigmatist, and mystic. He is venerated as a s ...

.Was this unknown man Italy’s greatest collector?
''

The Art Newspaper ''The Art Newspaper'' is a monthly print publication, with daily updates online, founded in 1990 and based in London and New York City. It covers news of the visual arts as they are affected by international politics and economics, developments ...

'', 7 September 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2015.

Legacy

Around 2013, Cerruti created the Fondazione FC in which he vested his collection and villa, as well as a capital sum. According to the terms of his will, Cerutti's extraordinary collection is now managed by the nearby contemporary museum

Castle of Rivoli The Castle of Rivoli is a former Residence of the Royal House of Savoy in Rivoli (Metropolitan City of Turin, Italy). It is currently home to the Castello di Rivoli – Museo d'Arte Contemporanea, the museum of contemporary art of Turin. In 199 ...

, and, after 4 May 2019, open to the public.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cerruti, Federico 1922 births 2015 deaths Italian art collectors Businesspeople from Genoa Italian Roman Catholics 20th-century Italian businesspeople