William Girometti (Milan, 9 January 1924 – Bologna, 3 October 1998) was an Italian painter of

Surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

influence.

Biography

William Girometti was born in

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 has ...

and spent his childhood and early years there, becoming involved with the

Accademia di Brera The Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera ("academy of fine arts of Brera"), also known as the or Brera Academy, is a state-run tertiary public academy of fine arts in Milan, Italy. It shares its history, and its main building, with the Pinacoteca d ...

in the period of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. At the end of the war, he began traveling and living in other Italian cities; in

Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and '' comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main strea ...

, in 1954, he met the woman who would some years later become his

wife A wife ( : wives) is a female in a marital relationship. A woman who has separated from her partner continues to be a wife until the marriage is legally dissolved with a divorce judgement. On the death of her partner, a wife is referred to as ...

. In Ferrara, and in particular Pontelagoscuro, in the early 1950s, he came into contact with a group of young painters (including Tito Salomoni) with whom he would establish a strong friendship and who would encourage him in making painting his career. Disamina della verità obiettiva

Initially, in fact, he had devoted himself to

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

, which was not completely abandoned until the end of the 1960s, as a review from 1968 demonstrates; in it, the art critic Fiorani expresses his esteem for the «sure command of expressive means», the «incisiveness of the faces», the «harmonious rhythm» and the «perfect balance between form, light and space». Towards the end of the 1950s he spent a period of time studying and working in France,

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous c ...

, Germany,

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , established ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

Interview given to Otello Mario Martinelli and broadcast by ″Radio Bologna 101″ on 26 August 1976. Cited by before returning to Italy to divide his time between Milan and Ferrara. In particular, he exhibited his works numerous times in Milan in shows of the ''Permanente''. In the 1960s he began his production, destined to become copious, of

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this re ...

s and

trompe-l'œil ''Trompe-l'œil'' ( , ; ) is an artistic term for the highly realistic optical illusion of three-dimensional space and objects on a two-dimensional surface. ''Trompe l'oeil'', which is most often associated with painting, tricks the viewer into ...

works, most of which were commissioned by private collectors and art dealers; finally settling in Bologna with his wife, he started in 1971 to lay the foundations for his

works despite continuing to produce more traditional works on request. In painting his father-in-law, whom he had never met because of his premature death, Girometti referred to the photo on a medallion of only a few centimeters in size. In 1973, with a show inaugurated on 24 November at "Il Collezionista"

art gallery An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The lon ...

in Bologna, he began to present works of a Surrealistic-

Metaphysical Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...

genre in a series of exhibitions, both personal and collective, in Italy and abroad, which earned him prizes, recognition and reviews in newspapers, magazines, specialized catalogues and on Italian and European radio and television programs. His first Surrealist works were inspired by the reality surrounding him, and were centered around themes of

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some s ...

and

ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps w ...

or dedicated to musicians and literary figures. Even his portraits acquired a surreal character. The critics generally agreed in recognizing his «compositional elegance», «chromatic sensitivity»,Turchese, Dario (1974). ″Presentazione″. Catalogue of the exhibition at "Spinetti" art gallery in Florence. (In Italian) «impeccable technique» and «command of form», together with the emphasis on content expressed through the «interesting fusion of irony and polemic» that only seemingly results in pessimism. A few reviews underline both the effective elaboration of the teachings of

André Breton André Robert Breton (; 19 February 1896 – 28 September 1966) was a French writer and poet, the co-founder, leader, and principal theorist of surrealism. His writings include the first ''Surrealist Manifesto'' (''Manifeste du surréalisme'') ...

and the reference to

René Magritte René François Ghislain Magritte (; 21 November 1898 – 15 August 1967) was a Belgian surrealist artist known for his depictions of familiar objects in unfamiliar, unexpected contexts, which often provoked questions about the nature and bounda ...

, with whom in particular he shared «a singularity of images» and «visual tricks» also achieved through the use of trompe-l'oeil. If, as a

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

, he had favored the use of

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay parti ...

, as a painter he created mostly paintings in oil on canvas or wood, along with some

pastel A pastel () is an art medium in a variety of forms including a stick, a square a pebble or a pan of color; though other forms are possible; they consist of powdered pigment and a binder. The pigments used in pastels are similar to those use ...

s and the occasional

tempera Tempera (), also known as egg tempera, is a permanent, fast-drying painting medium consisting of colored pigments mixed with a water-soluble binder medium, usually glutinous material such as egg yolk. Tempera also refers to the paintings done ...

. Towards the end of the 1970s he invented his own graphics technique, a technique he never divulged. He also wrote verse, and in the dépliant of the exhibit at "Il Collezionista" one of his poems was published. In his last years he devoted himself to the study of glass and experimented with new aesthetic realizations of constant themes; at his death in 1998 a Surrealistic

Neptune Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 times ...

and two other works were left unfinished. A few months before dying he was gratified by a retrospective dedicated entirely to him, organized by the

University A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

and by the Comune of Bologna.

The Art of Girometti

In 1976 the art critic Otello Mario Martinelli introduced a radio interview synthesizing the artistic development of William Girometti: «starting with his early interest in Impressionism, which dates back to 1960, yielding to his natural predisposition for the human body, he has created many portraits – also using sculpture – while his inner evolution is leading him to the painting of reality with compositions and trompe-l'oeil that he expresses with soft lines and harmonious colors. In 1971 he became interested in Surrealism».

Concerning Girometti's relationship with Surrealism, more than one critic has noted how the adherence to a pictorial movement did not prevent the artist from expressing himself in an original way, revealing the «contents of his thought» and showing a «unique personality»: «an artist who identified in Surrealism the expressive form most agreeable to him», proving himself to be "«a valid continuator» of a movement born as an «advocate of an essential inner renewal, capable of improving the very nature of a society». Surrealism was for him «the most congenial language for expressing observations, drives and thoughts»: «a personality and a matter of commitment that support a style, rather than being supported». Girometti essentially brought about the «rehabilitation of Surrealism, not experienced passively but instead felt as a strong stimulus thanks to which the imagination manages to stand up for its rights».Vitali, Roberto (1979). ″Annotazione per William Girometti″. Catalogue of the exhibition at "Vetrina D'Essai" art gallery in Bologna. A «vast humanistic culture» «represents the indispensable element for realizing oneself better without ever falling into self-satisfied intellectualism» and provides «classical ideas for new semantic inventions of line»; together with «a clear moral code» it also constitutes the basis for the «incessant work of observation and research»: the «canvases are the result of the conquest of conscience, as the artist himself says», a man who «has tenaciously delved into himself in search of his own means and specific natural inclinations». According to Gian Mario Olivieri, instead, «the literary allusions in the figurative field, the intellectual correlations and classical quotations, the vivid sensitized colors» connect William Girometti to Magical Realism, together with those artists who work «on an ideal concept» and make «conscious use of their own means to create it». Many critics have hypothetized about the meaning of some of his works in particular, always underlining their «difficult interpretation» and the «depth of inquiry», and the classification of the themes dealt with in general: from themes of «an existential nature and lyrical inspiration», to «themes of a social and ecological nature». In graphics «the inspiring theme of childhood above all, and of the woman considered as a human subject, is interlaced with metaphors»; underlined on the one hand is the «refinement of certain musical instruments from whose spaces emerge with chaste discretion enigmatic infantile figures», on the other hand, «the motif of the constant presence of the young boy engaged by the artist to symbolize hope in a better future» through «continuous biological and social regeneration».

Selected works

Most of Girometti's paintings are in private collections.

1965-1973

Oil paintings

* ''Ritratto di Nabore Tosati'', portrait of Girometti's father-in-law * ''Ritratto di Papa Giovanni XXIII'' * ''La moderna dimensione della donna'' * ''Siamo preparati alla vita in comune?'' * ''Scelta anticonformista'' * ''Partita impegnativa'' * ''Colonna sonora (omaggio a P.I. Tchaikovsky)'' * ''Tempo di stress'' * ''Recondite aspirazioni'' * ''L'attualità di

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

'' * ''Ritratto di signora ignota''

* ''Ritratto della signora Tilde**'' * ''Proteso a nuove conquiste'' * ''Discorso su tema ecologico'' * ''Vagheggiamenti d'un drogato'' * ''Rinuncia forzata'' * ''Bononia goliardica'' * ''Calamità naturale'' * ''Momenti distensivi'' * ''In attesa di giudizio'' * ''La stupidità, un male inguaribile'' * ''Alla ricerca di una platea'' * ''Riepilogando un discorso''

1974-1981

Oil paintings

* ''Trasformare, significa migliorare?'' * ''Cultura come fatto sociale'' * ''Nello spazio e nel tempo (omaggio a L. V. Beethoven)'' * ''Realtà incombente'' * ''Nuove prospettive per un mondo decadente'' * ''Idee per una tela bianca'' * ''Spettacolo giovane'' * ''Disamina della verità obiettiva'' * ''Restauro come terapia'' * ''Problema non risolto'' * ''C... come condizionamento'' * ''Dialettica illusoria'' * ''Escalation indiscriminata'' * ''L'idolo di tutti i tempi'' * ''Sussurri burleschi'', private collection * ''Autoritratto'' * ''Ritratto d'un pittore entomologo'' Senza_titolo_04

* ''Ritratto introspettivo di Marco**'' * ''Il fantasioso mondo di Simone'' * ''Squarcio ecologico'' * ''Visto: si nasca (dall'omonimo romanzo di F. Bertelli)'' * ''Esistenza nel riflesso della libertà'' * ''Armonie della natura'' * ''The great symphony'' * ''I sogni nel cassetto'' * ''Improrogabile ricerca di nuovi orizzonti'' * ''Fantasia di note'' * '' ''Molecole d'amicizia'' * ''Ispirazione sopita'' * ''Artistiche aspirazioni'' * ''Scambio ambivalente'' * ''La faccia nascosta'' * ''Dinamica del potere''

Graphics

* ''Libertà soffocata'' * ''La proposizione oggettiva'' * ''Enigmatico futuro'' * ''Spontaneità preclusa'' * ''Ritratto della moglie Luciana'' Senza titolo (omaggio a Pier Paolo Pasolini)

Senza titolo (omaggio a Pier Paolo Pasolini)

1982-1991

Oil paintings

* ''Riflessioni adolescenziali'' * ''The top model'' * ''Il nome della Rosa'' ''(dall' omonimo romanzo di U. Eco)'' * ''Omaggio a'' ''

Thomas Schippers Thomas Schippers (9 March 1930 – 16 December 1977) was an American conductor. He was highly regarded for his work in opera. Biography Of Dutch ancestry and son of the owner of a large appliance store, Schippers was born in Portage, Michigan ...

'' * ''Il castello di Mespelbrunn'' * ''Senza titolo'' ''(omaggio a

Pier Paolo Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, filmmaker, writer and intellectual who also distinguished himself as a journalist, novelist, translator, playwright, visual artist and actor. He is considered one of ...

)'' * ''Il

bonsai Bonsai ( ja, 盆栽, , tray planting, ) is the Japanese art of growing and training miniature trees in pots, developed from the traditional Chinese art form of ''penjing''. Unlike ''penjing'', which utilizes traditional techniques to produce ...

'' * ''Fragilità sommersa''

Solo exhibitions

* 1973: Bologna, ''William Girometti'', "Il Collezionista" art gallery, 24 November-6 December * 1974:

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 a ...

, ''William Girometti'', "Spinetti" art gallery, 23 November-5 December * 1975:

Modena Modena (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern I ...

, ''William Girometti'', "Selezione d'arte e cultura" art gallery, 15–28 February * 1975:

Lerici Lerici ( lij, Lerxi, locally ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of La Spezia in Liguria (northern Italy), part of the Italian Riviera. It is situated on the coast of the Gulf of La Spezia, southeast of La Spezia. It is known as the place ...

, ''William Girometti'', "La Cattedrale" art gallery, 1–8 March * 1975:

Carrara Carrara ( , ; , ) is a city and '' comune'' in Tuscany, in central Italy, of the province of Massa and Carrara, and notable for the white or blue-grey marble quarried there. It is on the Carrione River, some west-northwest of Florence. Its mo ...

, ''William Girometti'', "Carrara" art gallery, 26 April-9 May * 1976:

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 ...

, ''Girometti William'',

Museum Five Continents The Museum Five Continents or Five Continents Museum (german: Museum Fünf Kontinente), located in Munich, Germany, is a museum for non- European artworks and objects of cultural value. Its name until 9 September 2014 was Bavarian State Museum of ...

, Berufsverband Bildender Künstler, 30 January-29 February * 1977:

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the cap ...

, ''William Girometti'', "Il Coccio" art gallery, 30 December 1976-14 January 1977 * 1977: Bologna, ''William Girometti'', "La Buca dell'Artista" art gallery, 20 March-3 April * 1977: Bologna, ''William Girometti'', "Portici" art gallery, 26 March-3 April * 1978:

, ''William Girometti'', "Zecchillo D'Essai" art gallery, 1–14 February * 1979: Bologna, ''William Girometti'', "Vetrina D'Essai" art gallery, 2–21 December * 1981:

, ''William Girometti'', "Emilia" art gallery, 31 January-20 February * 1998: Bologna, ''Le stagioni di un artista: un itinerario di vita artistica fra sculture, disegni, pittura. Retrospettiva dedicata a William Girometti'', Sala Silentium, 21 April-3 May; organized by the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continu ...

and by the Comune.

Collective Exhibitions

* 1975: Porto Verde (

Misano Adriatico Misano Adriatico ( rgn, Misên) is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Rimini in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about southeast of Bologna and about southeast of Rimini. Misano Adriatico borders the following municipali ...

), Comunità Europea Artisti, 2–23 August * 1977: Bologna, Commissione Cultura Sport e Tempo Libero, 1 May-5 June * 1978: Bologna, "Portici" art gallery, 3–19 January * 1978: Bologna, Teatro Comunale, 8–10 December * 1979:

and Pinarella di Cervia, "Ghirlandina Arte" art gallery, 1 June-30 September * 1980: Bologna, Centro Arte e Ricerca, 14–30 June * 1980: Bologna, Circolo Artistico, 21 June-13 July * 1981: Bologna, Museo Civico, 30 July-2 August * 1981: Bologna,

Palazzo d'Accursio 260px, Palazzo d'Accursio. Palazzo d'Accursio (or Palazzo Comunale) is a palace once formulated to house major administrative offices of the city of Bologna, region of Emilia-Romagna, Italy. It is located on the Piazza Maggiore, and is the city's ...

, Salone d'Ercole, 2–31 December * 1982: Altedo, Sala Rinascita, 22–23 May * 1983:

Genova Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of G ...

Cornigliano Cornigliano, also called Cornigliano Ligure (to distinguish it from similar namesake Corigliano; lij, Cornigén) is a western quarter of the Italian city of Genoa. Geography Cornigliano lies on the coast about 7 kilometres west of the center ...

, Palazzo Bombrini, 14–24 January * 1983: Altedo, Sala Rinascita, 28–31 May * 1987: Bologna,

Palazzo Re Enzo Palazzo Re Enzo is a palace located on Piazza del Nettuno, 1 in the historic center of Bologna, northern Italy. The palace takes its name from Enzio of Sardinia, Frederick II's son, who was prisoner here from 1249 until his death in 1272. The pa ...

, Sala dei Trecento * 1998: Bologna, ''Primavera Spring Printemps: mostra di pittura all'aperto'', Piazzetta di via San Nicolò, 29–31 May; organized by the

and by the Comune among others.

Prizes and awards

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Picture Gallery

File:L'idolo di tutti i tempi.JPG, ''L'idolo di tutti i tempi'', 1974 File:Partita impegnativa.jpg, ''Partita impegnativa'', 1972 File:Colonna sonora (omaggio a P.I.Tchaikovsky).jpg, ''Colonna sonora (omaggio a P.I.Tchaikovsky)'', 1973 File:Escalation indiscriminata.jpg, ''Escalation indiscriminata'', 1975 File:Dialettica illusoria.JPG, ''Dialettica illusoria'', 1974 File:La stupidità, un male inguaribile.jpg, ''La stupidità, un male inguaribile'', 1973 File:Enigmatico_futuro.jpg, ''Enigmatico futuro'', 1979 File:Senza titolo 01.jpg, ''Senza titolo (La

balalaika The balalaika (russian: link=no, балала́йка, ) is a Russian stringed musical instrument with a characteristic triangular wooden, hollow body, fretted neck and three strings. Two strings are usually tuned to the same note and the thir ...

)'', 1979 File:Giovane_studente.jpg, ''Spontaneità preclusa (Giovane studente)'', 1979 File:Libertà_soffocata.JPG, ''Libertà soffocata'', 1978 File:Senza_titolo_07.jpg, ''Senza titolo'', 1978 File:Senza_titolo_05.jpg, ''Senza titolo'', 1979

Biography

The Art of Girometti

Selected works

1965-1973

Oil paintings

1974-1981

Oil paintings

Graphics

1982-1991

Oil paintings

Solo exhibitions

Collective Exhibitions

Prizes and awards

Picture Gallery

See also

References

Further reading