Michele Guerrisi (23 February 1893 - 29 April 1963) was an Italian sculptor,

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

and writer.

Biography

Cittanova_-_Villa_comunale23-Monumento_ai_caduti

At an early age, Michele Guerrisi moved to

Palmi Palmi may refer to: People Given name Palmi is an Icelandic male given name. Notable people with this surname include: * Pálmi Gestsson (born 1957), Icelandic actor and voice actor * Pálmi Gunnarsson (born 1950), Icelandic musician * Pálmi Ha ...

, where he attended the gymnasium and simultaneously practiced in the studio of the painter Domenico Augimeri. He subsequently attended high school Galileo Galilei in Florence. During a stay in Naples he met Vincenzo Gemito, who encouraged him to pursue sculpture. He graduated in literature in 1916 at the University of Naples and simultaneously obtained a diploma in sculpture at the

Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma The Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma is a public tertiary academy of art in Rome, Italy. It was founded in the sixteenth century, but the present institution dates from the time of the unification of Italy and the capture of Rome by the Kingdom ...

. He followed the Crocian philosophy. He taught art history at the Accademia Albertina in Turin from 1924 to 1945, where he had among his students

Umberto Mastroianni Umberto Mastroianni (September 21, 1910 in Fontana Liri – February 25, 1998 in Marino, Italy), was an Italian abstract sculptor. In 1989, he received the first Praemium Imperiale for sculpture. During World War II, he was in the Italian res ...

. During the

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 ...

era he worked mostly on war memorials to the dead of the First World War: in

San Giuliano del Sannio San Giuliano del Sannio is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Campobasso in the Italian region Molise, located about south of Campobasso. San Giuliano del Sannio borders the following municipalities: Cercepiccola, Guardiaregia, Mir ...

(1923 ), in Cittanova (1924), in Siderno, in

Montecalvo Irpino Montecalvo Irpino is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Avellino, Campania, southern Italy. Located upon a hill oversighting Ufita Valley, the town is known for its bread (), which is granted PAT quality mark, and DOP olive oil. In the ...

(1926), in

(1929), in

Luzzara Luzzara ( Guastallese: ) is a ''comune'' in the province of Reggio Emilia, in Emilia-Romagna, Italy. It is located at the northern end of the province, on the right bank of the river Po. Luzzara is the birthplace of the composer Maurizio Cazzat ...

(1930) and in Catanzaro (1933). In 1926, during the IV Biennial of Calabrian Art, Guerrisi noticed the works of

Andrea Cefaly junior Andrea is a given name which is common worldwide for both males and females, cognate to Andreas, Andrej and Andrew. Origin of the name The name derives from the Greek word ἀνήρ (''anēr''), genitive ἀνδρός (''andrós''), that re ...

and decided to take the young artist with him to Turin, at the

Albertina Academy of Fine Arts The Accademia Albertina di Belle Arti ("Albertina Academy of Fine Arts") is an institution of higher education in Turin, Italy History In the first half of the seventeenth century, there was a "University of Painters, Sculptors and Architects" ...

, starting his career. In 1943, he was a founding member, together with

Adriano Sicbaldi Adriano or Adrião is the form of the Latin given name ''Hadrianus'' commonly used in the Italian language; the form Adrian is used in the English language. Notable people with the name include: * Adriano Banchieri, Italian composer, music theo ...

(his teaching colleague),

Ermanno Politi Ermanno is an Italian masculin given name. It is a variant of the name Herman. People bearing the name include: * Ermanno Stradelli (1852–1926), Italian explorer, geographer and photographer * Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari (1876–1948), Italian com ...

and the sculptor

Renzo Moscatelli Renzo, the diminutive of Lorenzo, is an Italian masculine given name and a surname. Given name Notable people named Renzo include the following: *Renzo Alverà (1933–2005), Italian bobsledder *Renzo Arbore (born 1937), Italian TV host, show ...

, of the so-called Cherasco Group. He was also a painter and writer, author of some books of history and art criticism, of an autobiography, useful to trace the iter of his artistic formation. He published a history of

Cinquefrondi Cinquefrondi ( Calabrian: or ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria in the Italian region Calabria, located about southwest of Catanzaro and about northeast of Reggio Calabria. Cinquefrondi borders the ...

, and authored some books on history and art criticism. The Gipsoteca Michele Guerrisi of Palmi holds a number of his works, mostly '' maquettes'' in plaster, and some watercolours donated by his wife. He died on 29 April 1963 in Rome. Some of his work was shown during the ninth

Quadriennale di Roma The Rome Quadriennale (Italian: ''Quadriennale di Roma'', also called in English the ''Rome Quadrennial'') is a foundation for the promotion of contemporary Italian art. Its name derives from the four-yearly exhibitions it is required to host by ...

in 1965–1966.

Expositions

Guerrisi was present at the

Venice Biennial The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

of 1934 and 1936 (with his sculptures: ''Figura femminile inginocchiata'' and ''Donna negra'', with which he was awarded). In 1937, he exhibited a portrait of

Gloria Alcorta Gloria Alcorta (30 September 1915 – 25 February 2012) was an Argentine writer, poet and sculptor. Her first work was a books of poems in French titled ''La Prison de l'enfant'', it was published in 1935 and it has a preface by Jorge Luis Borg ...

at the Exhibition of Italian Art from 1800 to the present day held in Berlin. Between 1931 and 1956 he participated in the first seven editions of the Quadrennial of Rome; At the IX Quadrennial (1965), two years after his death, a retrospective exhibition was dedicated to him. He also participated in 1953 in the collective exhibition Art in the life of

Southern Italy Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion of the Italian Republic consisting of its southern half. The term ''Mezzogiorno'' today refers to regions that are associated with the peop ...

at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome.

Monuments

He was the author of public monuments such as: * ''Mausoleo di Francesco Cilea'' * ''Monumento agli studenti caduti per l'Università'', Naples, 1923 * ''Monumento ai caduti'', Cittanova, 1924 * ''Monumento ai caduti della Ia Guerra Mondiale'', Siderno, 1924 * ''Monumento ai caduti'',

, 1926 * ''Monumento ai caduti'', Castellabate, 1926 * ''Monumento al poeta Ibico'',

Reggio Calabria Reggio di Calabria ( scn, label= Southern Calabrian, Riggiu; el, label= Calabrian Greek, Ρήγι, Rìji), usually referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the largest city in Calabria. It has an estimated popul ...

* ''Monumento ai Caduti'',

* ''Monumento ai caduti'', Catanzaro, 1933 * ''Monumento al beato Felice'',

Nicosia Nicosia ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Arabic: Nikusiya) is the largest city, capital, and seat of government of Cyprus. It is located near the centre of the Mesaor ...

, 1956

Gallery

Reggio calabria monumento ibico.jpg, Il monumento a Ibico a

Palazzo Comunale Taverna.JPG, Il monumento a Mattia Preti a Taverna Monumento ai caduti - Catanzaro.JPG, Il monumento ai caduti di Catanzaro Cittanova - Villa comunale24-Monumento ai caduti.jpg, Il monumento ai caduti di

Cittanova Cittanova is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria in the Italian region Calabria, located about southwest of Catanzaro and about northeast of Reggio Calabria. Located on the slopes of Aspromonte and facing the ...

Caduti di Palmi.jpg, Il monumento ai Caduti di

Monumento caduti Siderno.jpg, Il monumento ai caduti di Siderno Mausoleo di Francesco Cilea a Palmi 1.jpg, Il mausoleo a Palmi

Artworks in museums

The

Galleria civica d'arte moderna e contemporanea Galleria may refer to Shopping centres named ''Galleria'' Australia *Galleria Shopping Centre (Perth), Morley, Western Australia *Galleria Shopping Centre (Melbourne), Melbourne, Victoria Canada *Allen Lambert Galleria, Toronto, Ontario *Gal ...

of Turin possesses the work'' Swimmer'', exposed to the Venetian Biennial of 1934. A Portrait of Italo Cremona exhibited at the next edition (1936) was instead purchased by the Gallery of Modern Art of Milan. Some '' vedute'' of Rome are in the Galleria Comunale d'Arte Moderna of Rome.

Publications

* ''Dalle botteghe agli studi'', Torino: Le Arti Belle, 1926 * ''Discorsi su la scultura'', Torino: L'Erma, 1930 * ''Il Giudizio di Michelangelo'', Rome: AVE, 1947 * ''L'idea figurativa'', Milan: Mondadori * ''L'errore di Cèzanne'', Pisa: Nistri/Lischi, 1954.

Acknowledgments

Michele Guerrisi has been entitled the Gipsoteca of Palmi, which houses plaster casts of his works and several watercolors offered by his wife, the Scientific High School of Cittanova, the Artistic High School of Palmi and the Technical Institute for Surveyors and Social Activities of Reggio Calabria Righi-Guerrisi. In addition, a square in Cittanova and two streets in Palmi and Cinquefrondi were named after him.