Giuseppe Grandi
Encyclopedia
Giuseppe Grandi was an Italian sculptor, painter and engraver.
at the Accademia di Brera, in 1866 he won the Canonica competition with a sculpture called Ulisse
and began to work on a verist sculpture of Tabacchi at Turin
. After his Turin period, he returned to Milan
, where he joined the Lombard Scapigliatura
school. He was a friend of Cremona and Ranzoni, and with them assumed a renewed anti-academist position and shared their common luministic research. Forgetting neoclassical smoothness and the lucidity of Romantic art, he sought the luministic effects of painting in sculpture.
One of his best-known works is the monument to Cesare Beccaria of 1871, along with the lesser-known paggio di Lara of 1873 and his Maresciallo Ney of 1874.
In 1881 his initial design won a public competition to create a monument to the Five Days of Milan
in piazza di Porta Vittoria. For thirteen years he worked intensively at compositions, modelli, bronze casting, and even created a small menagerie of animals as live models for the work. For each of the Five Days he had many different and well-known models pose, but he died in 1894 before he could see his work inaugurated.
The city of Milan has re-named a piazza after him.
Life
Taught by VelaVincenzo Vela
Vincenzo Vela was a Swiss sculptor, active mainly in northern Italy.-Biography:Having started work as a stonecutter when still very young, Vela received his initial training at Viggiù and then moved to Milan, where he worked on the Cathedral and enrolled at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in 1832...
at the Accademia di Brera, in 1866 he won the Canonica competition with a sculpture called Ulisse
Odysseus
Odysseus or Ulysses was a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer's Iliad and other works in the Epic Cycle....
and began to work on a verist sculpture of Tabacchi at Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
. After his Turin period, he returned to Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, where he joined the Lombard Scapigliatura
Scapigliatura
Scapigliatura is the name of the artistic movement which developed in Italy after the period known as Risorgimento,...
school. He was a friend of Cremona and Ranzoni, and with them assumed a renewed anti-academist position and shared their common luministic research. Forgetting neoclassical smoothness and the lucidity of Romantic art, he sought the luministic effects of painting in sculpture.
One of his best-known works is the monument to Cesare Beccaria of 1871, along with the lesser-known paggio di Lara of 1873 and his Maresciallo Ney of 1874.
In 1881 his initial design won a public competition to create a monument to the Five Days of Milan
Five Days of Milan
The Five Days of Milan was a major event in the Revolutionary Year of 1848 and the start of the First Italian War of Independence. On March 18th, the city of Milan, rose, and in five days of street fighting drove Marshal Radetzky and his men from the city....
in piazza di Porta Vittoria. For thirteen years he worked intensively at compositions, modelli, bronze casting, and even created a small menagerie of animals as live models for the work. For each of the Five Days he had many different and well-known models pose, but he died in 1894 before he could see his work inaugurated.
The city of Milan has re-named a piazza after him.