Ferruccio Ferrazzi (15 March 1891 – 8 December 1978 in Rome) was an Italian painter and sculptor, as well as a professor at Accademia di Belle Arti of Rome.)

Life

Born in Rome, Ferrazzi was the eldest son of the sculptor Stanislao Ferrazzi. In 1904, he was trained in the studio of Francesco Bergamini, a former pupil of

Michele Cammarano Michele Cammarano (23 February 1835, Naples - 15 September 1920, Naples) was an Italian painter who was best known for his battle scenes, although he worked with a wide variety of subjects. Biography His grandfather was Giuseppe Cammarano, a ...

. The following year he attended the Scuola Libera del Nudo and at the Accademia di Francia. He first exhibited at the 1907 Exhibition (LXXVII Esposizione Internazionale di Belle Arti) in Rome. In 1910, he won a scholarship to the Instituto Catel which allowed him to take up art as a career. In 1913, he exhibited ''Genetrix'' at the First Roman Secession Exhibition (Prima Esposizione internazionale d'arte della Secessione Romana). In December, he was granted the national art pension, which gave him financial security and allowed him to set up a studio in

Via Ripetta Via di Ripetta, also called Via Ripetta, is a street in the historic centre of Rome (Italy), in the rione Campo Marzio, that links Piazza del Popolo to Via del Clementino and, with other toponyms (Via della Scrofa, Via della Dogana Vecchia), rea ...

. A visit to the Louvre in Paris revealed his interest in Georges Seurat whose style was similar to his own. During this period he alternated futurist works, such as the first draft of Family Characters, with others of Cézannian inspiration. It was at the Institute of Music between 1915 and 1916, when the time came for his first solo exhibition, hosted at the LXXXV Exhibition Society of Amateurs and Connoisseurs of Fine Arts and a summa of the different tendencies operating in the artist. In fact, we have a Michelangelo-esque Pietà, which is flanked by a figurative production attracted to childhood landscapes and portraits (including that of Matilde Festa, who would become the wife of the famous architect Marcello Piacentini), but also an early hint of hallucinatory painting, as well as futurist works to be ascribed mainly to the needs of a young author in the cultural temperament of the moment. Also appearing is the prism, that object loaded with meanings that will have an increasing weight in Ferrazzi's career. In 1926, he became a professor at the

Accademia 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 fir ...

. The same year he was the first Italian to win the Carnegie Prize. In the spring of 1933, he was elected to the Italian Academy. After the war, he created mainly religious works, both paintings and sculptures. In the 1950s, he spent most of his time at the Casa di Santo Stefano in

Monte Argentario Monte Argentario is a ''comune'' (municipality) and a peninsula belonging to the Province of Grosseto in the Italian region Tuscany, located about south of Florence and about south of Grosseto. The peninsula is connected with the mainland by thre ...

where he created his ambient sculpture ''Il Teatro della Vita'' (The Theatre of Life). After taking an early interest in

Futurism Futurism ( it, Futurismo, link=no) was an 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 ...

, Ferrazzi finally moved back to

Neoclassicism Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism was ...

. He is remembered in particular for his interest in encaustic painting which he used in his murals. Giovanni Stradone was his pupil.Stradóne, Giovanni
at Treccani

References

External links

(in Italian) 1891 births 1978 deaths Painters from Rome 20th-century Italian sculptors 20th-century Italian male artists Italian male sculptors 20th-century Italian painters Italian male painters {{Italy-artist-stub