Vittore Grubicy de Dragon
Encyclopedia
Vittore Grubicy de Dragon (October 15, 1851 – August 4, 1920) was an Italian painter
, art critic and art gallery owner who was largely responsible for introducing to Italy the optical theories that led to Divisionism
in Italian painting. His writings and artistic examples influenced an entire generation of late 19th-century Italian painters. In addition, the Grubicy Gallery became one of the first art enterprises to be run on the concept of exhibiting living artists that were represented as clients of the gallery.
After his father died in 1870, Grubicy became involved with a group of local artists, poets and writers in Milan known as the Scapigliatura
, who sought to blur the differences between art and life. He was so taken with this new lifestyle that he convinced his brother Alberto to join him in buying an art gallery, which came to be known as the Galleria Fratelli Grubicy. His brother ran the financial aspects of the gallery while Vittore traveled throughout Europe looking for the newest art trends. Their gallery initially specialized in Scapigliatura artists such as Tranquillo Cremona and Daniele Ranzoni, but within a few years it began to feature newer Italian artists that included Giovanni Segantini
, Emilio Longoni
and Angelo Morbelli
.
Between 1882 and 1885 Grubicy spent most of his time in the Netherlands, where he became friends with artists of the Hague School
, especially Anton Mauve
. Mauve strongly influenced Grubicy as an artist and in his critical approach to art. When he returned to Italy Grubicy encouraged the artists he represented to emulate the styles of Mauve and Mauve's cousin-in-law, Vincent Van Gogh
. Painter Emilio Longoni
wrote, "Vittore Grubicy has brought Divisionism from abroad. He's having Segantini, Morbelli and me do it ourselves." Grubicy's passion for Divisionism was so strong that he convinced Segantini to rework an already finished painting, Ave Maria by the Lake, in a Divisionist technique.
In 1886 Grubicy became the art critic for the newspaper La Riforma, where for the next four years he used his position to further promote his artistic opinions. In that publication and in Cronaca d'Arte, the most Italian important art review of the time, Grubicy wrote extensively about "the perception of light as the tool best able to translate onto canvas subjective emotions…"
In 1889 Vittore left the gallery business over conflicts with his brother, and he began to devote most of his time to his own painting and to writing about other artists. He continued to act as an independent talent scout, and in 1891 he helped organize the first large exhibition of Italian Divisionist painting at Milan's Brera Tiennale. Conservative art critics wrote scathing reviews of many of the works, but Grubicy wrote very positive reviews in several newspapers. One of the most important paintings shown at that exhibition was Gaetano Previati
's Maternity. In writing about this work Grubicy introduced the concept of Symbolism in Italian painting when he hailed the piece as embodying a new aesthetic which he called "mystico-ideist."
Grubicy also influenced his fellow artists through his compositions of multiple paintings arranged as triptych
s and polyptych
s. In the early 1890s he began planning a polyptych of sixteen panels under the title of Winter in Miazzina. The work took shape as an interchangeable sequence of paintings that reflected his emotional experiences over the long winters at Miazzina
on the shore of Lake Maggiore
. Each canvas was subjected to continued revisions by Grubicy over many years, depending upon his mood and his interests. Finally, in 1911, the polyptych assumed its final form in an arrangement of only eight paintings that he called Winter in the Mountains. In spite of all his work to create it, he did not exhibit it during his lifetime. It was first shown together at the Rome Biennale in 1921, the year after his death. After that the assemblage did not remain as a polyptych, and the individual paintings were sold to different collectors and museums. Grubicy took a photograph of the polyptych as he intended it to be seen, and based upon that image the work has been reassembled for several exhibitions since his death, most recently at the Kunsthaus Zürich in 2009.
His health deteriorated after 1910, and during the last decade of his life he had to give up painting altogether. He remained an active promoter of new artists during this period, especially Carlo Carra
and Romano Tosi.
Grubicy died at his home in Milan in 1920.
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, art critic and art gallery owner who was largely responsible for introducing to Italy the optical theories that led to Divisionism
Divisionism
Divisionism was the characteristic style in Neo-Impressionist painting defined by the separation of colors into individual dots or patches which interacted optically....
in Italian painting. His writings and artistic examples influenced an entire generation of late 19th-century Italian painters. In addition, the Grubicy Gallery became one of the first art enterprises to be run on the concept of exhibiting living artists that were represented as clients of the gallery.
Biography
Grubicy grew up in a well-to-do family in Milan. Both of his parents were great art lovers, and from an early age he was introduced to the art circles in Milan and other European cities.After his father died in 1870, Grubicy became involved with a group of local artists, poets and writers in Milan known as the Scapigliatura
Scapigliatura
Scapigliatura is the name of the artistic movement which developed in Italy after the period known as Risorgimento,...
, who sought to blur the differences between art and life. He was so taken with this new lifestyle that he convinced his brother Alberto to join him in buying an art gallery, which came to be known as the Galleria Fratelli Grubicy. His brother ran the financial aspects of the gallery while Vittore traveled throughout Europe looking for the newest art trends. Their gallery initially specialized in Scapigliatura artists such as Tranquillo Cremona and Daniele Ranzoni, but within a few years it began to feature newer Italian artists that included Giovanni Segantini
Giovanni Segantini
Giovanni Segantini was an Italian painter known for his large pastoral landscapes of the Alps. He was one of the most famous artists in Europe in the late 19th century, and his paintings were collected by major museums. In later life he combined a Divisionist painting style with Symbolist images...
, Emilio Longoni
Emilio Longoni
Emilio Longoni was an Italian painter.-Biography:He was born in Barlassina on July 9, 1859, fourth of twelve children, from Garibaldi’s volunteer and horseshoer Matteo Longoni and from tailor Luigia Meroni....
and Angelo Morbelli
Angelo Morbelli
Angelo Morbelli was an Italian painter.-Biography:A grant from the City Council of Alessandria enabled Morbelli to enrol at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts, Milan, in 1867. He was awarded the Fumagalli Prize at the Brera exhibition of 1883 for Last Days as well as a gold medal at the Paris...
.
Between 1882 and 1885 Grubicy spent most of his time in the Netherlands, where he became friends with artists of the Hague School
Hague School
The Hague School is the name given to a group of artists who lived and worked in The Hague between 1860 and 1890. Their work was heavily influenced by the realist painters of the French Barbizon school. The painters of the Hague school generally made use of relatively sombre colours, which is why...
, especially Anton Mauve
Anton Mauve
Anthonij Rudolf Mauve was a Dutch realist painter who was a leading member of the Hague School. He signed his paintings 'A. Mauve' or with a monogrammed 'A.M.'. He was a very significant early influence on his cousin-in-law Vincent van Gogh.Most of Mauve's work depicts people and animals in...
. Mauve strongly influenced Grubicy as an artist and in his critical approach to art. When he returned to Italy Grubicy encouraged the artists he represented to emulate the styles of Mauve and Mauve's cousin-in-law, Vincent Van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh , and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: , with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh. In France, where much of his work was produced, it is...
. Painter Emilio Longoni
Emilio Longoni
Emilio Longoni was an Italian painter.-Biography:He was born in Barlassina on July 9, 1859, fourth of twelve children, from Garibaldi’s volunteer and horseshoer Matteo Longoni and from tailor Luigia Meroni....
wrote, "Vittore Grubicy has brought Divisionism from abroad. He's having Segantini, Morbelli and me do it ourselves." Grubicy's passion for Divisionism was so strong that he convinced Segantini to rework an already finished painting, Ave Maria by the Lake, in a Divisionist technique.
In 1886 Grubicy became the art critic for the newspaper La Riforma, where for the next four years he used his position to further promote his artistic opinions. In that publication and in Cronaca d'Arte, the most Italian important art review of the time, Grubicy wrote extensively about "the perception of light as the tool best able to translate onto canvas subjective emotions…"
In 1889 Vittore left the gallery business over conflicts with his brother, and he began to devote most of his time to his own painting and to writing about other artists. He continued to act as an independent talent scout, and in 1891 he helped organize the first large exhibition of Italian Divisionist painting at Milan's Brera Tiennale. Conservative art critics wrote scathing reviews of many of the works, but Grubicy wrote very positive reviews in several newspapers. One of the most important paintings shown at that exhibition was Gaetano Previati
Gaetano Previati
Gaetano Previati was an Italian painter.-Biography:Previati moved from Ferrara to Milan in 1876 and enrolled at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts, winning the Canonica competition in 1879. Having settled in Milan definitively in 1881, he came into contact with the Scapigliatura movement...
's Maternity. In writing about this work Grubicy introduced the concept of Symbolism in Italian painting when he hailed the piece as embodying a new aesthetic which he called "mystico-ideist."
Grubicy also influenced his fellow artists through his compositions of multiple paintings arranged as triptych
Triptych
A triptych , from tri-= "three" + ptysso= "to fold") is a work of art which is divided into three sections, or three carved panels which are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all multi-panel works...
s and polyptych
Polyptych
A polyptych generally refers to a painting which is divided into sections, or panels. The terminology that follows is in relevance to the number of panels integrated into a particular piece of work: "diptych" describes a two-part work of art; "triptych" describes a three-part work; "tetraptych"...
s. In the early 1890s he began planning a polyptych of sixteen panels under the title of Winter in Miazzina. The work took shape as an interchangeable sequence of paintings that reflected his emotional experiences over the long winters at Miazzina
Miazzina
Miazzina is a comune in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 130 km northeast of Turin and about 15 km northeast of Verbania...
on the shore of Lake Maggiore
Lake Maggiore
Lake Maggiore is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the second largest of Italy and largest of southern Switzerland. Lake Maggiore is the most westerly of the three great prealpine lakes of Italy, it extends for about 70 km between Locarno and Arona.The climate is mild...
. Each canvas was subjected to continued revisions by Grubicy over many years, depending upon his mood and his interests. Finally, in 1911, the polyptych assumed its final form in an arrangement of only eight paintings that he called Winter in the Mountains. In spite of all his work to create it, he did not exhibit it during his lifetime. It was first shown together at the Rome Biennale in 1921, the year after his death. After that the assemblage did not remain as a polyptych, and the individual paintings were sold to different collectors and museums. Grubicy took a photograph of the polyptych as he intended it to be seen, and based upon that image the work has been reassembled for several exhibitions since his death, most recently at the Kunsthaus Zürich in 2009.
His health deteriorated after 1910, and during the last decade of his life he had to give up painting altogether. He remained an active promoter of new artists during this period, especially Carlo Carra
Carlo Carrà
Carlo Carrà was an Italian painter, a leading figure of the Futurist movement that flourished in Italy during the beginning of the 20th century. In addition to his many paintings, he wrote a number of books concerning art. He taught for many years in the city of Milan.-Biography:Carrà was born in...
and Romano Tosi.
Grubicy died at his home in Milan in 1920.