Guido Maria Balsamo Stella (

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 ...

, 1 January 1882 - Asolo, 1 January 1941) was an Italian painter and engraver. Guido Balsamo Stella Ex Libris August Ammann

Biography

Born in Turin of parents Luigi Balsamo and Celestina Sommariva, Balsamo Stella soon lost his father and acquired the double surname from his mother's second husband, the Venetian Alessandro Stella. In 1896 Balsamo Stella followed his family and moved back to Turin from Venice. Nothing is known about his education. In 1901 Balsamo Stella began working in a painter's studio in Ca 'Pesaro but because the local Municipality, contrary to the will of Duchess Felicita Bevilacqua La Masa, demanded the payment of rent, Guido left after less than two and a half years. From 1903 to 1904 he attended some lessons at the Free School of the Nude of the Venetian Academy. Balsamo Stella soon went to

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, where he had contacts with the Munich Secession, in particular with Dagobert Peche and Felice Rix. From 1909 Balsamo Stella attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich where he was taught by

Albert Welti Albert Welti (18 February 1862 – 7 June 1912) was a Swiss painter and etcher. Many of his works depicted dreams or nightmares. Biography Welti was born in Zurich as the oldest of seven children of Jakob Albert Welti-Furrer (1833-1906), a h ...

Arnold Böcklin Arnold Böcklin (16 October 182716 January 1901) was a Swiss symbolist painter. Biography He was born in Basel. His father, Christian Frederick Böcklin (b. 1802), was descended from an old family of Schaffhausen, and engaged in the silk tra ...

's student. He showed some of his works at the Secession exhibitions at the Glasspalast, while also working on the production of ''

ex libris Ex Libris may refer to: *An Ex Libris (bookplate), a label affixed to a book to indicate ownership *Ex Libris (band), a Dutch metal band *Ex Libris (bookshop), a Swiss retail company * "Ex Libris" (''Charmed''), a 2000 episode of the television ser ...

''. In 1914 Balsamo Stella obtained an award at the 11th Venice Biennale for his etching: "Il Vitello d'oro". During the First World War, Balsamo Stella moved to Sweden with his wife Anna Akerdahl, also a painter. He dedicated himself to etching and to the study of glass engraving techniques alongside the glass masters of

Orrefors Orrefors () is a locality situated in southern Sweden and part of Nybro Municipality, Kalmar County, with 719 inhabitants in 2010. The township belongs to Hälleberga parish and is primarily famous for its glassworks with the same name. Orrefors i ...

and, on his return to Italy, he became a proponent for the renewal of

Murano glass Venetian glass () is glassware made in Venice, typically on the island of Murano near the city. Traditionally it is made with a soda–lime "metal" and is typically elaborately decorated, with various "hot" glass-forming techniques, as well as ...

craftsmanship. Upon his return to Italy Balsamo Stella first lived in Florence where from 1922 he taught at the Royal Institute of Art of S. Croce; he also set up a glass laboratory in Colle Val d'Elsa. At a later time Balsamo Stella became the director of the State School of Art of Wood in Ortisei in Val Gardena (1924-1927) from where, however, he was removed at the request of the producers of sacred art who consider him too innovative. He then taught at the Pietro Selvatico State Institute of Art in

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

(1927-1929). In 1929 Balsamo Stella worked in

Murano Murano is a series of islands linked by bridges in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy. It lies about north of Venice and measures about across with a population of just over 5,000 (2004 figures). It is famous for its glass making. It was on ...

at SALIR (Studio Ars Labor Industrie Riunite). In 1929 Balsamo Stella was called to

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 ...

to head the prestigious ISIA (Higher Institute for Artistic Industries) where he remained until 1932. From 1936 Balsamo Stella directed the State Institute of Art in Venice. Balsamo Stella died suddenly in Asolo in 1941.Mario Quesada, Museo d'arte italiana di Lima, Venezia, Marsilio, 1994, p. 7, .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balsamo Stella, Guido 1882 births 1941 deaths Italian male sculptors 20th-century sculptors 19th-century Italian sculptors Artists from Turin 20th-century Italian painters 19th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 19th-century Italian male artists