Carlo Chiostri (5 May 1863, in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

– 9 July 1939, in Florence) was a self-taught Italian painter and graphic artist, best known for being one of the earliest illustrators for the book version of ''

The Adventures of Pinocchio ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' ( ; it, Le avventure di Pinocchio ; commonly shortened to ''Pinocchio'') is a children's fantasy novel by Italian author Carlo Collodi. It is about the mischievous adventures of an animated marionette named Pi ...

''.

Biography

He began working as an illustrator in the 1890s, primarily for the publishing houses of Adriano Salani Editore, and Casa Editrice Nerbini. His drawings for Pinocchio were done in pen and watercolor, then engraved on wood. His designs for ''Ciondolino'' (1896) by Vamba, were made into

etching Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...

s which were then "restituiti all'eleganza e alla grazia dell'originale" (returned to the elegance and grace of the original). He illustrated the works of many other well-known authors, including

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Emma Perodi Emma Perodi (31 January 1850, Cerreto Guidi - 5 March 1918, Palermo) was an Italian writer and journalist; best known for her children's books. Biography For many years, it was uncertain if she had been born in Florence or Fiesole but, in the ...

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and Alberto Cioci (1867–1925), who wrote a sequel to Pinocchio called ''Lucignolo, l'amico di Pinocchio'' (Candlewick, Pinocchio's Friend). He also created drawings for ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its origin ...

'' by

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

, and the complete works of Tommaso Catani, a priest and friend of

Carlo Collodi Carlo Lorenzini (24 November 1826 – 26 October 1890), better known by the pen name Carlo Collodi (), was an Italian author, humourist, and journalist, widely known for his fairy tale novel ''The Adventures of Pinocchio''. Early life Co ...

, who wrote children's books and elementary school readers. For many years, he was a contributor to '' Il giornalino della Domenica''. ''The Journey of a Lead Soldier'', written by Anna Franchi and published by Salani in 1901, met with considerable success. In 1910, he wrote ''Il falco e la colomba: melanconie d'un Gatto bigio'' (The Falcon and the Dove: Melancholy of a Gray Cat). Later, he designed postcards. Federico Fellini had this to say about Pinocchio and Chiostri: :"I loved this story as a child, of course, very much, but I like it even today. I sat quite sunk dreaming about it, staring at the melancholy, ghostly shapes of Carlo Chiostri. They underlined also the sad side of this book, its taste of the bad dream, that fever sick trembling."Gina Kehayoff and Christoph Stölzl, ''Topor, Tod und Teufel'' (exhibition catalog), Munich Stadtmuseum (1985)

References

External links

Carlo Chiostri, self-portrait
@ Cultura Italia
Postcards and related items by Chiostri
@ Delcampe.
Arcadja Auctions: More works by Chiostri.
"The Art-Deco Mermaids of Carlo Chiostri" * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chiostri, Carlo Italian cartoonists 1863 births 1939 deaths Italian children's book illustrators Postcard artists Artists from Florence Magazine illustrators

Biography

References

Further reading

External links