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Alexander Rizzoni

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Alexander Rizzoni
Mikhail Botkin, Alexander Rizzoni, 1878, oil on canvas; Russian Museum, Saint Petersburg[1]
Born(1836-02-04)February 4, 1836
Riga, Governorate of Livonia, Russian Empire
DiedApril 29, 1902(1902-04-29) (aged 66)
Rome, Kingdom of Italy
Resting placeProtestant Cemetery, Rome
Education
Alma materImperial Academy of Arts
Known forPainting
AwardsBig Gold Medal of the Imperial Academy of Arts (1861)
ElectedMember Academy of Arts (1866)
Professor by rank (1868)

Alexander Antonovich Rizzoni, or Alessandro Rizzoni (Russian: Алекса́ндр Анто́нович Риццо́ни; 4 February 1836, in Riga – 29 April 1902, in Rome) was a Russian-Italian painter of portraits and genre scenes; mostly on Catholic themes.

Biography

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He was born to an Italian family of artisans; originally from Bologna. He received his first lessons from his brother Pavel, who was also an artist.[2] In 1852, he enrolled at the Imperial Academy of Arts, where he studied with Bogdan Willewalde. Five years later, he was awarded two silver medals for his work.

Portrait of a Cardinal

That same year, he made a study trip to Italy and France, at his own expense. When he returned in 1860, he received a gold medal for his painting "Jewish Smugglers", which might now be perceived as somewhat Anti-Semitic although, judging by his later works, he harbored no such sentiment.

After that, he travelled again, to Spain and Belgium and, when he returned in 1862, received another gold medal along with a stipend that allowed him to continue his studies abroad.[2]

He spent four years in Paris and Rome, where he painted portraits of the Catholic clergy, scenes from folk life, and interiors of church buildings and synagogues. In 1866, he showed eight of these paintings in Saint Petersburg, earning the title of "Academician" and an extension of his stipend. Two years later, he showed more works and was named a Professor.[2]

When his stipend expired, he chose to stay in Rome, but continued to exhibit in Saint Petersburg. He also helped acquire paintings for the Tretyakov Gallery and the collector, Bogdan Khanenko. From this point on, his works dealt almost exclusively with the Catholic Church; plus some portraits of young women. His paintings are notable for their attention to details in the environment and costume, but are considered somewhat sentimental. Non-Catholic commentators in Russia were also concerned with his lack of "critical detachment".[citation needed]

Jewish Smugglers

An extremely harsh article appeared in the June 1901 issue of Мир искусства [ru] (World of Art) calling him the "worst of all modern artists", a disgrace to Russian art, and suggesting that all of his works be thrown away;[citation needed] an attack that was probably related to his subject matter and loyalties, rather than artistic quality. After that, and some similar follow-up criticisms, he fell into a depression and committed suicide the following year.[3] Since Rizzoni could not be buried according to Catholic rites, it's been arranged for him to be interred into the Protestant Cemetery, Testaccio, per Orthodox rites.[4][5]

In 1990, one of his paintings, "The Italian Shop", was among a dozen stolen from the Serpukhov Historical and Art Museum. It was recovered in 2010, after being found in a private collection.[6]

References

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  1. ^ Catalogued and reproduced in the following sources:
    Russian Museum, Saint Petersburg, ed. (2014). Живопись. Вторая половина XIX века : А — И (collection catalog). Государственный Русский музей. Живопись XVIII–XX века (in Russian). Vol. 5. Saint Petersburg: Palace Editions. p. 70, cat. no. 365. ISBN 978-5-93332-507-9. OCLC 41387709.
    Bakaldina, Yelena V. (2019). Академик живописи М. П. Боткин (artbook / exhibition catalogue) (in Russian). Saint Petersburg: Roerich Institute. pp. 25, 81, cat. no. 49. ISBN 978-5-907223-13-4. OCLC 1137832584.
  2. ^ a b c Brief biography @ Russian painting.
  3. ^ Excerpt from Творчество Врубеля by Dora Zinovevna Kogan @ Vrubel World.
  4. ^ Ivanov, M. (May 7, 1902). "Последние минуты А. А. Риццони". Novoye Vremya (in Russian). No. 9400. Saint Petersburg: Suvorin Typography. p. 4.
  5. ^ Talalay, Mikhail G. [in Russian] (2014). Российский некрополь в Италии (in Russian). Moscow: Staraya Basmannaya. p. 594. ISBN 978-5-906470-18-8. OCLC 910722058.
  6. ^ "A Masterpiece with a Criminal Record" from Literaturnaya Gazeta

Further reading

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Media related to Alexander Rizzoni at Wikimedia Commons

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