Giuseppe Capogrossi

Capogrossi ( born March 7, 1900 in Rome, Italy, † October 9, 1972 in Rome, Italy ) was an Italian painter and printmaker.

Life and work

Capogrossi originally studied law and put in 1922 his law exams from. In the years 1927-1933 he lived and worked in Paris Capogrossi and attended to the artistic education and training various academies and studios and worked intensively with the various art movements of that time. His works in this period are strongly influenced by the art of Pablo Picasso, Amedeo Modigliani and also Pierre- Auguste Renoir's.

In 1937 he moved back to Italy. He lived there in Umbria, and deepened his paintings with motifs from rural life and peasant themes. In 1939 he returned to Rome. In 1940 he took a teaching position at the Liceo Artistico in Rome. In 1947 he undertook a long study trip to Austria and occupied himself intensively there with the Vienna Secession and the art of Gustav Klimt.

In 1949 he founded, together with artists such as Alberto Burri, Mario Balloco and Ettore Colla, the group "Origine ". His painting is now facing the Neokubismus. In the 50s he turned then entirely from the figurative and painted from only exclusively abstract. In 1966, he worked as a teacher at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Naples.

Capogrossi eventually developed a very own visual language. He used horizontal, oval and ellipsoidal shapes and configurations, which he designed as a relief or as a collage. In its graphics still occur lattice-like structures and letter-like characters and elements.

His works international attention, are exhibited in many countries and are part of the collections of galleries worldwide. Capogrossi was also (among others) participated in the documenta I ( 1955) and Documenta II ( 1959) in Kassel.

Capogrossi died on 9 October 1972 in his hometown of Rome.