Anselmo Piccoli
Encyclopedia
Anselmo Piccoli was an Argentine Abstract art
ist.
, Argentina
in 1915. Politically active as a Socialist during secondary school, Piccoli found time to attend the local Gaspary Academy, where he was trained as a painter. There, he met Antonio Berni
, an increasingly well-known Figurative art
ist, in 1932, and Berni became a mentor to the promising young artist. The two began a collaboration on Wounded Man, presented jointly at the local Autumn Art Festival of 1935. The mural, performed in lacquer
blown through a tube, proved to be a lasting percent for Piccoli by way of its texture. His work was awarded at a competition in Rosario in 1941 and he joined the Independent Artists' Group, a local guild
in 1942. The following year, Piccoli was awarded his first personal art exhibition at Rosario's prestigious Juan B. Castagnino Fine Arts Museum
.
Piccoli married Lydia Langbart in 1944 and, relocating to the Buenos Aires
suburb of Burzaco
, he devoted himself to family and, though he continued to paint, his art show appearances became less frequent. He was awarded numerous prestigious prizes, notably the inclusion in 1954 of a selection of his work at the Emilio Caraffa Fine Arts Museum in Córdoba
. His technique continued to evolve during this interim and, creating a portrait of his wife in 1959, his use of geometry
marked a clear trend in his work towards Constructivism
. Collecting a body of geometrically-defined work, Piccoli obtained an exhibition in 1969, his first show as a painter in this genre.
Piccoli made himself more available to art galleries in the following years, and he garnered numerous awards. Creating increasingly Figurative art
, a genre popularized in Argentina during the 1970s by Eduardo Mac Entyre
, his work was presented in a restropective at the Wildenstein Gallery of Buenos Aires in 1983. His work continued to receive accolades, including the Grand Prize at the National Art Show of 1984.
Continuing to paint, he died in 1992 at age 76. His widow donated Rhythms in Aluminum, his last work, to the Castagnino Art Museum in Rosario in 2004, on the occasion of their inaugural of a contemporary art branch.
Abstract art
Abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an...
ist.
Life and work
Anselmo Piccoli was born in RosarioRosario
Rosario is the largest city in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the western shore of the Paraná River and has 1,159,004 residents as of the ....
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
in 1915. Politically active as a Socialist during secondary school, Piccoli found time to attend the local Gaspary Academy, where he was trained as a painter. There, he met Antonio Berni
Antonio Berni
Delesio Antonio Berni was a figurative artist, born in Rosario, province of Santa Fe, Argentina. He worked as a painter, an illustrator and an engraver. His father, Napoleón Berni, was an immigrant tailor from Italy...
, an increasingly well-known Figurative art
Figurative art
Figurative art, sometimes written as figurativism, describes artwork—particularly paintings and sculptures—which are clearly derived from real object sources, and are therefore by definition representational.-Definition:...
ist, in 1932, and Berni became a mentor to the promising young artist. The two began a collaboration on Wounded Man, presented jointly at the local Autumn Art Festival of 1935. The mural, performed in lacquer
Lacquer
In a general sense, lacquer is a somewhat imprecise term for a clear or coloured varnish that dries by solvent evaporation and often a curing process as well that produces a hard, durable finish, in any sheen level from ultra matte to high gloss and that can be further polished as required...
blown through a tube, proved to be a lasting percent for Piccoli by way of its texture. His work was awarded at a competition in Rosario in 1941 and he joined the Independent Artists' Group, a local guild
Guild
A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...
in 1942. The following year, Piccoli was awarded his first personal art exhibition at Rosario's prestigious Juan B. Castagnino Fine Arts Museum
Juan B. Castagnino Fine Arts Museum
The Juan B. Castagnino Fine Arts Museum is an art museum in the city of Rosario, , considered the most important of the interior of the country and the second in national terms. It is administered by the municipal government...
.
Piccoli married Lydia Langbart in 1944 and, relocating to the Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
suburb of Burzaco
Burzaco
Burzaco is a city in Almirante Brown Partido, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Its municipal area of 22.77 km² holds a population of 86,113 . Its located 27 kilometres from Buenos Aires city, and connected to it by the Ferrocarril General Roca South...
, he devoted himself to family and, though he continued to paint, his art show appearances became less frequent. He was awarded numerous prestigious prizes, notably the inclusion in 1954 of a selection of his work at the Emilio Caraffa Fine Arts Museum in Córdoba
Córdoba, Argentina
Córdoba is a city located near the geographical center of Argentina, in the foothills of the Sierras Chicas on the Suquía River, about northwest of Buenos Aires. It is the capital of Córdoba Province. Córdoba is the second-largest city in Argentina after the federal capital Buenos Aires, with...
. His technique continued to evolve during this interim and, creating a portrait of his wife in 1959, his use of geometry
Geometry
Geometry arose as the field of knowledge dealing with spatial relationships. Geometry was one of the two fields of pre-modern mathematics, the other being the study of numbers ....
marked a clear trend in his work towards Constructivism
Constructivism (art)
Constructivism was an artistic and architectural philosophy that originated in Russia beginning in 1919, which was a rejection of the idea of autonomous art. The movement was in favour of art as a practice for social purposes. Constructivism had a great effect on modern art movements of the 20th...
. Collecting a body of geometrically-defined work, Piccoli obtained an exhibition in 1969, his first show as a painter in this genre.
Piccoli made himself more available to art galleries in the following years, and he garnered numerous awards. Creating increasingly Figurative art
Figurative art
Figurative art, sometimes written as figurativism, describes artwork—particularly paintings and sculptures—which are clearly derived from real object sources, and are therefore by definition representational.-Definition:...
, a genre popularized in Argentina during the 1970s by Eduardo Mac Entyre
Eduardo Mac Entyre
Eduardo Mac Entyre is an Argentine painter well-known for his Pop art, particularly his geometric designs.Born in Buenos Aires to a Scottish father and Belgian mother, Mac Entyre began pursuing his talent for sketches at the age of twenty...
, his work was presented in a restropective at the Wildenstein Gallery of Buenos Aires in 1983. His work continued to receive accolades, including the Grand Prize at the National Art Show of 1984.
Continuing to paint, he died in 1992 at age 76. His widow donated Rhythms in Aluminum, his last work, to the Castagnino Art Museum in Rosario in 2004, on the occasion of their inaugural of a contemporary art branch.