Gerardo Dottori (11 November 1884 – 13 June 1977) was an Italian

Futurist Futurists (also known as futurologists, prospectivists, foresight practitioners and horizon scanners) are people whose specialty or interest is futurology or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities abou ...

painter. He signed the ''Futurist Manifesto of Aeropainting'' in 1929. He was associated with the city of

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part o ...

most of his life, living in

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 ...

for six months as a student and in

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 ...

from 1926-39. Dottori's' principal output was the representation of landscapes and visions of

Umbria it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , ...

, mostly viewed from a great height. Among the most famous of these are ''Umbrian Spring'' and ''Fire in the City'', both from the early 1920s; this last one is now housed in the Museo civico di

Palazzo della Penna 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 ...

, with many of Dottori's other works. His work was part of the art competitions at the

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held duri ...

and the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...

Life

Dottori was born in

to a working-class family. His mother died when he was eight years old. He was admitted as a young man to the Academy of Fine Arts in Perugia, and was employed at the same time by an antique dealer. In 1906 he worked as a decorator in Milan, where he was able to visit museums and exhibitions. He resumed his studies in 1908, mixing in avant-garde art circles in 99

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

. In 1910 he began work with the magazine ''Defense dell'Arte''. In 1911 he went to

where he met

Giacomo Balla Giacomo Balla (18 July 1871 – 1 March 1958) was an Italian painter, art teacher and poet best known as a key proponent of Futurism. In his paintings he depicted light, movement and speed. He was concerned with expressing movement in his works, ...

and became an adherent of Futurism. In 1912 he joined the first Futurist group in Umbria. In 1915 he fought in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, at the same time writing ''Parole in libertà'' ("Words in freedom") which he published under the name G. Voglio. In 1920 he founded the Futurist magazine ''Griffa!''. In the same year he had his first exhibition in Rome. In 1924 he participated in the Futurist Congress, where he had already acquired a certain notoriety, presenting his thesis on ''Rural Futurism''. In the same year he exhibited at the

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

Biennale Biennale (), Italian for "biennial" or "every other year", is any event that happens every two years. It is most commonly used within the art world to describe large-scale international contemporary art exhibitions. As such the term was popularis ...

, the first Futurist to do so. In the course of his life he participated in ten Biennales. From 1926 to 1939 he lived in Rome, contributing to various art magazines. In 1925 he exhibited at the Permanente and in 1927 at the Gallery Pesaro in the first of a series of Futurist exhibitions, including a one-man show in 1931. His major contribution to Futurism was Aeropainting. He was one of the signatories of the 1929 ''Aeropainting Manifesto'', signed also by

Benedetta Cappa Benedetta Cappa (14 August 1897 – 15 May 1977) was an Italian futurist artist who has had retrospectives at the Walker Art Center and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Her work fits within the second phase of Italian Futurism. Biography Bened ...

Fortunato Depero Fortunato Depero (30 March 1892 – 29 November 1960) was an Italian futurist painter, writer, sculptor, and graphic designer. Biography Although born in Fondo or in the neighboring village of Malosco, according to other sources (in the It ...

, Fillia,

Filippo Tommaso Marinetti Filippo Tommaso Emilio Marinetti (; 22 December 1876 – 2 December 1944) was an Italian poet, editor, art theorist, and founder of the Futurist movement. He was associated with the utopian and Symbolist artistic and literary community Abbaye d ...

, Enrico Prampolini and others, who are among its major representatives. In 1932 he was one of the first Futurists to paint sacred subjects, following the ''Futurist Manifesto of Sacred Art'' (1931) signed by Marinetti and Fillia. The Futurist involvement in religious art followed the signing of the

Lateran Treaty The Lateran Treaty ( it, Patti Lateranensi; la, Pacta Lateranensia) was one component of the Lateran Pacts of 1929, agreements between the Kingdom of Italy under King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and the Holy See under Pope Pius XI to settle ...

between the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

and

Fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

Italy in 1929. Crocifissione, Gerardo Dottori (1927)

In 1939 Dottori was appointed to the chair of painting at Perugia, remaining in that post until 1947. In 1941 he wrote the ''Manifesto of Umbrian Aeropainting'' in which he proposed that the essence of his Futurism lay in the representation of mystically-inclined landscapes. Dottori carried out many mural commissions, including the Altro Mondo in Perugia and the hydroport in Ostia. Mural painting was embraced by the Futurists in the ''Manifesto of Mural Plasticism'' at a time when the revival of fresco painting was being debated in Italy. Following a post-war silence around Marinetti's Futurism, Dottori exhibited in 1951 at Bergamini and the 1953 Biennale of Angelicum and continued to exhibit in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1989 a retrospective of Dottori's work was presented at the Gallery San Carlo. ''Crocifissione'' (1927), a Futurist representation of the crucifixion of Christ (''pictured right'') is now housed in the

Vatican Museum The Vatican Museums ( it, Musei Vaticani; la, Musea Vaticana) are the public museums of the Vatican City. They display works from the immense collection amassed by the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries, including several of ...

References

External links

Official Site of the Gerardo Dottori archives association (in Italian)

http://www.lattuadastudio.it/Artecentro/dottori.html Official Site of the Gerardo Dottori archives association] * Hulten, P., ''Futurism and Futurisms'', Thames and Hudson, 1986 * Martin, S., ''Futurism'', Taschen, n.d. {{DEFAULTSORT:Dottori, Gerardo Italian Futurist painters 1884 births 1977 deaths Italian male painters People from Perugia Italian military personnel of World War I 20th-century Italian painters 20th-century Italian male artists Olympic competitors in art competitions