Vittorio Bolaffio (3 June 1883,

Gorizia Gorizia (; sl, Gorica , colloquially 'old Gorizia' to distinguish it from Nova Gorica; fur, label= Standard Friulian, Gurize, fur, label= Southeastern Friulian, Guriza; vec, label= Bisiacco, Gorisia; german: Görz ; obsolete English ''Gorit ...

– 26 December 1931,

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...

) was an Italian painter.

Biography

Bolaffio was born in

on 3 June 1883, to Amodeo (or Amadio) and Pia Gentilomo. His father owned arable land, and traded in wines; his family was of Jewish origin, of comfortable economic conditions. Having spent his early years mainly in

Palmanova Palmanova ( fur, Palme) is a town and comune in northeast Italy. The town is an example of a star fort of the late Renaissance, built up by the Venetian Republic in 1593. The fortifications were included in UNESCO's World Heritage Site list as ...

, Bolaffio was initially trained in Trieste, studying under Giovanni Cossar and Italico Brass: it was his teachers who advised him to continue his education in Florence and to turn to Giovanni Fattori. Between 1900 and 1902 he attended the artist's studio, and in a course held by Fattori he met

Amedeo Modigliani Amedeo Clemente Modigliani (, ; 12 July 1884 – 24 January 1920) was an Italian painter and sculptor who worked mainly in France. He is known for portraits and nudes in a modern style characterized by a surreal elongation of faces, necks, and ...

. In 1907 Bolaffio joined the Trieste artistic circle, and in 1909 opened a studio in Trieste. In 1910 he went to Paris, where Modigliani also resided: the latter brought him into contact with the Parisian art environment, and Bolaffio met and was inspired by

Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known prima ...

, Cézanne, and

Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (, ; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French Post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of colour and Synthetism, Synthetist style that were d ...

. After spending a period in Trieste after returning from Paris, in 1912 Bolaffio decided to embark as a fireman on the ships of the

Lloyd Triestino Lloyd Triestino was a major shipping company, created in 1919 when the city of Trieste became part of Italy in the settlement after the First World War. It ran passenger services on ocean liners around the world. Seriously harmed by Second World W ...

and made numerous trips, reaching Asia. In 1913 he returned to Italy and was able to exhibit in Naples some paintings inspired by his travels to the East. Bolaffio was then called to arms at the outbreak of the First World War, and took part in the entire conflict, remaining deeply shocked. In 1919, when the war was over, he returned to live in Trieste. He made numerous portraits of illustrious personalities of the day, including

Umberto Saba Umberto Saba (9 March 1883 – 26 August 1957) was an Italian poet and novelist, born Umberto Poli in the cosmopolitan Mediterranean port of Trieste when it was the fourth largest city of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Poli assumed the pen name " ...

, Dario De Tuoni and Ruggero Rovan. In 1926 his father died and Bolaffio isolated himself from public life. On 15 December 1931 he donated the work ''Triptych of the Port'' to the Revoltella Museum. He died in Trieste on 26 December 1931.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolaffio, Vittorio 1883 births 1931 deaths 20th-century Italian painters People from Gorizia People from Trieste