Guido Nincheri (1885 – 1 March 1973) was a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
painter and designer working mainly in
stained glass
Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
and
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 ...
.
Biography
Guido Nincheri was born in
Prato
Prato ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Italy, the capital of the Province of Prato. The city lies in the north east of Tuscany, at the foot of Monte Retaia, elevation , the last peak in the Calvana chain. With more than 200,000 i ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
in 1885. He studied art in
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 ...
and immigrated to
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
in November 1913 after a short stay in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
. He listed the artists
Titian
Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italians, Italian (Republic of Venice, Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school (art), ...
and
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...
as his strongest influences. He worked for Henri Perdriau, decorating churches in Quebec. He produced stained glass windows and frescoes for 100+ churches in Canada and United States.
Nincheri designed the interior decoration of many Catholic churches across Canada and
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
, including Saint-Viateur d'Outremont and
Saint-Léon de Westmount Church
Saint-Léon may refer to the following:
Places
;France:
* Saint-Léon, Allier, a commune in the department of Allier
* Saint-Léon, Haute-Garonne, a commune in the department of Haute-Garonne
* Saint-Léon, Gironde, a commune in the department o ...
(a
National Historic Site of Canada
National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment
An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of t ...
).
He not only executed frescoes and stained glass, but also designed a number of churches, including
St. Anthony of Padua
Anthony of Padua ( it, Antonio di Padova) or Anthony of Lisbon ( pt, António/Antônio de Lisboa; born Fernando Martins de Bulhões; 15 August 1195 – 13 June 1231) was a Portuguese Catholic priest and friar of the Franciscan Order. He was bor ...
in
Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
and the
Church of the Madonna della Difesa
The Church of the Madonna della Difesa ( it, Chiesa della Madonna della Difesa, french: Église de Notre-Dame-de-la-Défense) is a Catholic church in the neighbourhood of Little Italy in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was built by Italian immigrant ...
in Montreal, which is famous for its fresco depicting
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...
on horseback among a group of the faithful. In the United States many of his works are found in the Franco-American Catholic Churches of the
Providence Diocese in Rhode Island. Three of his largest works are in th
Church of Christ the King West Warwick, Rhode Island. His secular work includes the
Roger Williams Park Museum of Natural History and Planetarium in
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...
and the
Château Dufresne in Montreal.
St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church in Prescott, Ontario is home to Nincheri's "Lost Window", depicting the nativity and signed by the artist. Listed in their records simply as St John's Church, Prescott, curators assumed the window was in the counties of Prescott-Russell near the Quebec border but could not find it. St John the Evangelist is on the St Lawrence River west of Cornwall and south of Ottawa. From the 1930s until 2013, the three-panel scene graced the chapel attached to the church. When the chapel and adjacent hall were sold, the congregation had the window refurbished and moved into the main church worship space.
In addition to the churches mentioned above, his frescoes can be seen in
Holy Ghost Church in Providence, Rhode Island;
St. Ann's Church Complex in
Woonsocket, Rhode Island
Woonsocket ( ), is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 43,240 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, making it the sixth largest city in the state. Being Rhode Island's northernmost city, Woonsock ...
; Ste. Amélie in
Baie-Comeau
Baie-Comeau (; 2021 city population 20,687; CA population 26,643) is a city located approximately north-east of Quebec City in the Côte-Nord region of the province of Quebec, Canada. It is located on the shores of the Saint Lawrence River nea ...
,
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
; St. Theresa of the Child Jesus in Ottawa; St. Michael's and St. Anthony's in Montreal; and the Chapel of the Saints-Noms-de-Jésus-et-de-Marie Mother House in Montreal.
Nincheri executed an estimated 5000 stained glass windows in about 200 different churches in
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, the
Maritimes
The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,899,324 in 2021, which makes up 5.1% of Ca ...
,
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
, and New England, as well as at
St. Stanislaus Church in Amsterdam, New York.
Recognition
Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...
dubbed Nincheri "the church's greatest artist of religious themes".
Nincheri was knighted by the Italian government in 1972.
In 1992, Nincheri was honoured for his contribution during Montreal's 350th anniversary celebrations.
One of his circa 1940 stained glass windows, entitled "Our Lady of the Rosary" from
Holy Rosary Cathedral (Vancouver)
The Metropolitan Cathedral of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, commonly known as Holy Rosary Cathedral, is a late 19th-century French Gothic revival church that serves as the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver. It is located i ...
was featured on a Canadian Christmas 45-cent postage stamp in 1997.
Postage stamp
/ref>
For his work at the Roger Williams Park Museum, which was donated without charge, the city of Providence named Nincheri an honorary citizen.
Works
File:Montreal StLeon2 tango7174.jpg, Guido Nincheri's interior decoration of Saint-Léon de Westmount Church
Saint-Léon may refer to the following:
Places
;France:
* Saint-Léon, Allier, a commune in the department of Allier
* Saint-Léon, Haute-Garonne, a commune in the department of Haute-Garonne
* Saint-Léon, Gironde, a commune in the department o ...
File:Montreal_StLeon3_tango7174.jpg, Guido Nincheri's interior decoration of Saint-Léon de Westmount Church
Saint-Léon may refer to the following:
Places
;France:
* Saint-Léon, Allier, a commune in the department of Allier
* Saint-Léon, Haute-Garonne, a commune in the department of Haute-Garonne
* Saint-Léon, Gironde, a commune in the department o ...
File:Montreal_StLeon4_tango7174.jpg, Guido Nincheri's interior decoration of Saint-Léon de Westmount Church
Saint-Léon may refer to the following:
Places
;France:
* Saint-Léon, Allier, a commune in the department of Allier
* Saint-Léon, Haute-Garonne, a commune in the department of Haute-Garonne
* Saint-Léon, Gironde, a commune in the department o ...
File:Montreal_StLeon5_tango7174.jpg, Guido Nincheri's stained glass in Saint-Léon de Westmount Church
Saint-Léon may refer to the following:
Places
;France:
* Saint-Léon, Allier, a commune in the department of Allier
* Saint-Léon, Haute-Garonne, a commune in the department of Haute-Garonne
* Saint-Léon, Gironde, a commune in the department o ...
File:Montreal_StLeon6_tango7174.jpg, Guido Nincheri's stained glass in Saint-Léon de Westmount Church
Saint-Léon may refer to the following:
Places
;France:
* Saint-Léon, Allier, a commune in the department of Allier
* Saint-Léon, Haute-Garonne, a commune in the department of Haute-Garonne
* Saint-Léon, Gironde, a commune in the department o ...
File:Montreal_StLeon7_tango7174.jpg, Guido Nincheri's stained glass in Saint-Léon de Westmount Church
Saint-Léon may refer to the following:
Places
;France:
* Saint-Léon, Allier, a commune in the department of Allier
* Saint-Léon, Haute-Garonne, a commune in the department of Haute-Garonne
* Saint-Léon, Gironde, a commune in the department o ...
File:Montreal StLeon8 tango7174.jpg, Guido Nincheri's stained glass in Saint-Léon de Westmount Church
Saint-Léon may refer to the following:
Places
;France:
* Saint-Léon, Allier, a commune in the department of Allier
* Saint-Léon, Haute-Garonne, a commune in the department of Haute-Garonne
* Saint-Léon, Gironde, a commune in the department o ...
File:Montreal NDDefense2 tango7174.jpg, Guido Nincheri's interior decoration of Church of the Madonna della Difesa
The Church of the Madonna della Difesa ( it, Chiesa della Madonna della Difesa, french: Église de Notre-Dame-de-la-Défense) is a Catholic church in the neighbourhood of Little Italy in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was built by Italian immigrant ...
File:Holy Rosery Cathedral main entrances.JPG, Guido Nincheri's stained glass in Holy Rosary Cathedral (Vancouver)
The Metropolitan Cathedral of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, commonly known as Holy Rosary Cathedral, is a late 19th-century French Gothic revival church that serves as the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver. It is located i ...
File:St Anthony's Roman Catholic church Ottawa.jpg, Guido Nincheri's St. Anthony of Padua (Ottawa)
St. Anthony of Padua is a Roman Catholic church at 427 Booth Street in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, in the heart of Little Italy
Little Italy is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, u ...
File:Chateau Dufresne.jpg, Guido Nincheri's Château Dufresne in Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
, Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
File:Montreal StViateur2 tango7174.jpg, Guido Nincheri's interior decoration of Église Saint-Viateur d'Outremont in Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
, Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
File:Montreal StViateur4 tango7174.jpg, Guido Nincheri's interior decoration of Église Saint-Viateur d'Outremont in Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
, Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
File:The "Lost Window".JPG, Guido Nincheri's nativity window from St John the Evangelist Anglican Church in Prescott, Ontario
Prescott, Ontario is a small town on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River in the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, Canada. In 2021, the town had a population of 4,078. The Ogdensburg–Prescott International Bridge, east of Prescot ...
File:Statue of Casimir Pulaski in Roger Williams Park in Providence.jpg, Statue of Casimir Pulaski
Kazimierz Michał Władysław Wiktor Pułaski of the Ślepowron coat of arms (; ''Casimir Pulaski'' ; March 4 or March 6, 1745 Makarewicz, 1998 October 11, 1779) was a Polish nobleman, soldier, and military commander who has been called, tog ...
in Roger Williams Park
Roger Williams Park is an elaborately landscaped city park in Providence, Rhode Island and a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is named after Roger Williams, the founder of the city of Providence and the pr ...
References
Further reading
* Grondin, Mélanie (2018) ''The Art and Passion of Guido Nincheri'', Montreal: Véhicule Press,
External links
the art of Guido Nincheri
Church of Christ the King, West Warwick, RI
* ttps://montrealgazette.com/life/Masterworks+bygone+reborn/5635790/story.html Montreal Gazette article on studio and collection* http://web.me.com/aboonalj/StJoesMaronite/Church_Art.html
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nincheri, Guido
Artists from Quebec
1885 births
1973 deaths
Canadian stained glass artists and manufacturers
Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)
People from Prato
Italian emigrants to Canada
20th-century Canadian painters
Canadian male painters
Burials at Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery
Catholic painters
Catholic decorative artists
20th-century Canadian male artists