Raúl Soldi (27 March 1905 – 21 April 1994) was an Argentine painter and production designer whose work treated various subjects, including landscapes, portraits, the theater and the circus, and nature. His theatrical figures are renowned for their
melancholy appearance. He also illustrated poetry books.
Brief biography
Raúl Soldi was born into an artistic family in Buenos Aires in 1905, his father was a cellist and his eldest sister studied piano and song. He began his studies at the National Academy of Fine Arts, Buenos Aires, Argentina then travelled to Europe in 1921. He stayed in Germany until 1923 then moved to Italy to continue his studies, enrolling in the Real Academy of Brera (
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 ...
) where he remained until 1932. Whilst in Italy, he became involved with groups of vanguard artists. He also did a lot of films as a production designer and scenographer both in Argentina and USA.
In 1932, he returned to Argentina and continued to produce oils, watercolors, inks, drawings, lithographies and monocopies.
In 1933, he began to work as cinematographic theatrical designer for national films and continued this work for fifteen years.
In 1941, he was granted a scholarship by the National Commission of Culture and travelled to Hollywood in the United States.
In 1953, he began work upon the murals of the Church of Santa Ana, Glew, Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina – a project that took 23 summers to complete.
In 1966, he redecorated the Cupola of the
Colón Theater Colón may refer to:
Places
;Argentina
* Colón, Entre Ríos
* Colón Department, Córdoba
* Colón Department, Entre Ríos
* Colón, Buenos Aires
;Colombia
* Colón, Nariño
* Colón, Putumayo
* Colón Department (Colombia)
;Costa Rica
* C ...
of Buenos Aires with several dancers and musicians from old times without receiving any pay of this big project.
In 1968, he travelled to Israel, to paint a fresco in the Basilica of the Anuncición, in
Nazareth
Nazareth ( ; ar, النَّاصِرَة, ''an-Nāṣira''; he, נָצְרַת, ''Nāṣəraṯ''; arc, ܢܨܪܬ, ''Naṣrath'') is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel". In ...
, a mural inspired by the miracle of the
Virgin of Luján
Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...
.
In 1971, he created a mosaic of the Church of San Isidro Labrador.
In 1973, his work ''Santa Ana and the Virgin'' is included in the Gallery of Sacred Art at 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 ...
.
In 1979, his mural ''Santa Fiorentina'' is incorporated in the Cathedral of the city of
Campana
Campana (Italian and Spanish for "bell") may refer to:
Places
* Campana Partido, Argentina, a ''partido'' (administrative subdivision) in Buenos Aires Province
** Campana, Buenos Aires Province, a city in Campana Partido
* Campana Island, Capit ...
, province of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
In 1989, he created the mosaic ''Camerata Bariloche'', for the Museum of the Park of Portofino, Italy.
Paintings
Soldi's paintings include:
* The Hammock (1933)
* Landscape of
Villa Ballester
Villa Ballester is a city located in the northern Greater Buenos Aires urban area and it is part of the General San Martín Partido in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is served by the Línea Mitre commuter railway with its station also nam ...
(1935)
* Sarita (1947)
* The Musicians (1956)
* The Greeting (1957)
* Naked with Doves (1957)
* Diego with Dancer Suit (1958)
* The Kiss (1960)
* The Tango in Paris (1963)
Awards
During his lifetime, Soldi received numerous awards, including:
1933: First Prize at the Conjuntoen XIX the Hall Watercolorists of Buenos Aires and a Silver Medal in the International Exposition of San Francisco.
1936: Gold Medal in the Hall Rosary, Santa Fe.
1937: Prizes at the International Exhibition of Paris and the XXIVth Hall Watercolorists of Buenos Aires.
1942: ''Figures'' gains Third Prize in the National Hall.
1943: Prizes in the Biennial of San Pabloy in the National Hall Artists Decorators (Gold medal Argentina).
1944: ''Dancing Young Person'' gains the Sívori Prize granted by the National Hall.
1947: First Prize in the National Hall.
1948: First Prize of the Biennial of San Pablo.
1949: ''Woman combing to her daughter'' gains the Great Prize of Honor in the National Hall.
1952: The Palanza Prize of the National Academy of Beautiful Arts, of which he was member.
1960: Mention of Honor in II the Biennial of Mexico.
1985: Declared 'illustrious citizen' of the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Museums and exhibitions
From 1930, Soldi's work was displayed in the National Hall Culture, and in diverse provincial Halls throughout Argentina. Internationally, his work was displayed in the International Expo of San Francisco (1933), International Exhibition of Paris (1937), in New York (1941–1943) and in exhibitions throughout Romania in 1970.
In 1992, 210 of Soldi's works were displayed in The History of Argentina exhibition at the National Rooms of Culture, Argentina. Half million people attended the exhibition, setting a record for an Argentine artist.
Raúl Soldi's work is represented in the main museums and art galleries of the world, including the
Modern Museum of Art of New York (MOMA), Florence and the Gallery of Modern Art in Milan.
Tribute
On 27 March 2019, search engine
Google
Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...
commemorated Raúl Soldi with a
Doodle
A doodle is a drawing made while a person's attention is otherwise occupied. Doodles are simple drawings that can have concrete representational meaning or may just be composed of random and abstract lines or shapes, generally without ever lift ...
on his 114th birth anniversary.
Selected filmography
* ''
Goal
A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines.
A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ai ...
'' (1936)
* ''
Girls Orchestra
''Girls Orchestra'' (Spanish:''Orquesta de señoritas'') is a 1941 Argentine musical comedy film directed by Luis César Amadori and starring Niní Marshall, Francisco Álvarez and Zully Moreno.Posadas p.115
The film's art direction was by Ra ...
'' (1941)
* ''
Carmen
''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...
'' (1943)
References
External links
*
Official website*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soldi, Raul
1905 births
1994 deaths
People from Buenos Aires
Argentine people of Italian descent
Illustrious Citizens of Buenos Aires
20th-century Argentine painters
Argentine male painters
20th-century Argentine male artists