Pietro Annigoni

Pietro Annigoni, OMRI (7 June 1910 – 28 October 1988) was an

Pietro Annigoni
Italian artist, portrait painter, fresco painter and medallist, best
OMRI
known for his painted portraits of Queen Elizabeth II.[1] His work
was in the Renaissance tradition, contrasting with the modernist
style that prevailed in his time.

Life
Born in Milan in 1910, Annigoni was influenced by the Italian
Renaissance. From the end of the 1920s on, he lived mainly in
Florence where he studied at the College of the Piarist Fathers.

In 1927, he was admitted to the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence,

where he attended the courses given by Felice Carena in painting,
Giuseppe Graziosi in sculpture, and Celestino Celestini in etching.
Annigoni enrolled in the nude class run by the Florentine Circolo
degli Artisti, while attending the open class in the same subject at Pietro Annigoni, self portrait
the Academy.
Born 7 June 1910
Milan, Italy
Annigoni exhibited his work for the first time in Florence in 1930
with a group of painters. He had his first individual exhibition two Died 28 October 1988
years later, in 1932 at the Bellini Gallery in the Palazzo Ferroni. (aged 78)
Florence, Italy
In 1932, journalist Ugo Ojetti featured Annigoni in the Arts section Education Accademia di Belle Arti
of the Corriere della Sera. Also in 1932, he won the Trentacoste Florence, Italy
prize.
Known for Fresco, oil painting,
portrait painting,
Family drawing, sculpture

Annigoni was married to Anna Giuseppa Maggini in 1937 until her Movement Realism (visual arts)
death of illness in July 1969. They had two children, Benedetto Awards Cavaliere di Gran
(1939) and Maria Ricciarda. In 1976 he married Rossella Segreto, Croce OMRI
also a favorite model of the artist.[2]

Death
In May 1988, Annigoni had emergency surgery due to a perforated ulcer, and he did not recover fully from
the ailment. He was rushed to the hospital in Florence on 27 October 1988 and died of kidney failure on 28
October 1988.[2] He is buried in the Porte Sante (Holy Doors) cemetery at the Basilica di San Miniato al
Monte, overlooking his beloved Florence.

Controversy in tradition
Between 1945 and 1950, Annigoni produced a succession of important and very successful works. In 1947,
he signed the manifesto of Modern Realist Painters. In this manifesto the group, which consisted of seven
painters, came out in open opposition to abstract art and the various movements that had sprung up in Italy
in these years. It was an insignificant detail in the painter's life but it would become a key point of reference
in literature about him. Among others who signed the petition were Gregory Sciltian, and brothers Antonio
and Xavier Bueno.

In March 1949, the Committee of the Royal Academy in England accepted the works Annigoni offered for
its annual exhibition. It was the artist's first experience with England and the beginning of a success which
was to acquire worldwide dimensions.[3]

Art exhibitions
Annigoni started showing his work internationally in the 1950s. In London, they were held at Wildenstein's
(1950 and 1954), Agnew's (1952 and 1956), the Federation of British Artists (1961), the Upper Grosvenor
Galleries (1966), and at many Royal Academy exhibitions. A special exhibition in Paris, France at the
Galerie Beaux Arts was held in 1953. New York Wildenstein's showed Annigoni from 1957–58. By 1969,
Annigoni's work was exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum in New York. Numerous Italian cities that showed
Annigoni works during his life included Turin, Rome, Florence, Verona, Brescia, Montecatini Terme, Pisa,
Bergamo, Rovereto and Milan.[4]

Evaluation
His work bore the influence of Italian Renaissance portraiture, and was in contrast to the modernist and
post-modernist artistic styles that dominated the middle- and late-twentieth century. Annigoni painted two
portraits of Queen Elizabeth II, in 1955 and 1969. The earlier one was commissioned by the Worshipful
Company of Fishmongers and is displayed at their livery hall, Fishmongers' Hall; the 1969 portrait was
commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery and is on public display there. Following his portrait of the
Queen, Annigoni became sought after and painted portraits of Pope John XXIII, US Presidents John F.
Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, the Shah and Empress of Iran, Princess Margaret[5] and several other
members of the British royal family.[2]

Annigoni was chosen by TIME magazine to paint President John F. Kennedy for the (5 January) 1962
Person of the Year cover.[6] The result was perhaps his least-liked portrait as Annigoni had no time or
inclination to satisfy Time magazine. Other TIME magazine covers that featured portraits by Annigoni were
the issues of 5 October 1962 (Pope John XXIII), 1 November 1963 (Ludwig Erhard), 12 April 1968
(Lyndon B. Johnson) and 30 April 1965 (British Prime Minister Harold Wilson).

Other subjects around the world that Annigoni painted include HRH Prince Philip and several other
members of the House of Windsor as well as the shoemaker Salvatore Ferragamo, Florentine author Luigi
Ugolini, ballet dancer Dame Margot Fonteyn, British actress Julie Andrews, Russian ballet star Rudolf
Nureyev, and the Maharani Gayatri Devi of Jaipur. His study of Author Bill Hopkins (novelist) was
reproduced on the cover of 1984's 'The Leap', a republishing of Hopkins' 1957 book, The Divine and the
Decay.
An outspoken artist, Annigoni wrote essays challenging modern art that disregarded the basic ability to
draw. He alienated critics, who claimed his art was too representational, discounting the unique dramatic
signature the artist brought to Renaissance tradition.[7]

Church frescoes
Annigoni was active painting church frescoes
in and around Florence.[8] During 1980–1985
(starting at the age of 70 years) at Monte
Cassino monastery, he completed his largest
fresco, the dome of the monastery.[2]

In 1970 Pietro Annigoni painted "San

Giuseppe" an affresco in the Church of Saint
Joseph in Galluzzo.[9]

Honours
In 1959, Annigoni was elected to the National
Vittorio Miele (left) and Pietro Annigoni (right), in Monte
Academy of Design as an Honorary
Cassino
Corresponding member.

On 14 November 1975 Annigoni was

conferred the Cavaliere di Gran Croce Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana (OMRI)[10]

In October 2010, the Italian Post Office issued a stamp commemorating the centennial of Pietro Annigoni's
birth.[11][12]

Museums
A Museo Pietro Annigoni in Via dei Bardi in Florence, Italy, houses sixty years of the master's work.

Museo Annigoni, Florence, Italy [13]

Uffizi Gallery and Pitti Palace in Florence, Italy[14]
Benedetta Bianchi Porro Foundation in Dovadola (Forlì), Italy
Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City
Indianapolis Museum of Art[15]
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco
Minneapolis Institute of Art
Royal Collection of Windsor Castle[16]
National Portrait Gallery of London[17]
Vatican Museums in Rome, Italy

See also
Annigoni: Portrait of an Artist

References
1. "Search results for Pietro Annigoni" (https://numismatica-italiana.lamoneta.it/ricerca.php?par
ole=Pietro+Annigoni&category=&byear=&eyear=&minpeso=&maxpeso=&mindia=&maxdia=
&mymat=-&mynominale=&myzecca=&type=-). laMoneta.it. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
2. "Pietro Annigoni, 78, Dies in Italy; Noted for Portrait of Elizabeth II" (https://query.nytimes.co
m/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE0D61631F933A05753C1A96E948260). New York Times. 30
October 1988. Retrieved 9 December 2008.
3. Annigoni: Italy's Most Misunderstood Artist (http://rompedas.blogspot.com/2009/11/italys-gre
atest-misunderstood-artist.html) 2009-26-11
4. Pietro Annigoni Cronologia (http://annigoni.info/cronologia.htm) Archived (https://web.archiv
e.org/web/20100306081342/http://annigoni.info/cronologia.htm) 2010-03-06 at the Wayback
Machine Chronology Annigoni Works and Exhibitions
5. Pietro Annigoni: Princess Margaret (http://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/event-root/pietro-annigon
i-princess-margaret1.php) National portrait gallery
6. "TIME magazine cover archive" (http://www.artcyclopedia.com/r/pietro-annigoni-time-covers.
html). Artcyclopedia.com. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
7. Pietro Annigoni, Italy's greatest misunderstood artist (http://www.theflorentine.net/articles/arti
cle-view.asp?issuetocId=4367) by Brenda Dionisi; (issue no. 99/2009 / 9 April 2009)
8. Annigoni: The Basilica of St. Anthony (http://www.basilicadelsanto.org/ing/visita/storia.asp)
Frescoes
9. Ernest William Watson,Arthur Leighton (1972). "American Artist" (https://books.google.com/b
ooks?id=OGQ9AAAAMAAJ&q=annigoni+galluzzo). p. 26.
10. quirinale.it (http://www.quirinale.it/onorificenze/DettaglioDecorato.asp?idprogressivo=35798
&iddecorato=35345)
11. paknetmag (30 October 2010). "Centennial of the birth of Pietro Annigoni - new Italian
stamp" (http://paknetmag.blogspot.com/2010/10/centennial-of-birth-of-pietro-annigoni.html).
Paknetmag.blogspot.com. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
12. Un francobollo per ricordare il pittore Annigoni (http://www.ilreporter.it/index.php?option=com
_content&view=article&id=13569:un-francobollo-per-ricordare-il-pittore-annigoni&catid=43:c
ultura-firenze&Itemid=164) Il Reporter, 22 October 2010; by Giulia Zocchi
13. "Museo Pietro Annigoni" (http://www.museoannigoni.it/sezionimuseo.html). Museo Pietro
Annigoni, Florence, Italy.
14. "State museums of Florence: Annigoni" (http://www.polomuseale.firenze.it/inv1890/inventari
o.asp?autn=Annigoni%20Pietro). Polomuseale.firenze.it. 22 September 2011. Retrieved
17 March 2012.
15. "IMA: Annigoni" (http://www.imamuseum.org/search/mercury/Annigoni). Imamuseum.org.
Retrieved 17 March 2012.
16. "UK government art collection" (http://www.gac.culture.gov.uk/search/Artist.asp?maker_id=9
9143). Gac.culture.gov.uk. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
17. "National portrait gallery" (http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait.php?LinkID=mp0
6620&rNo=0&role=art). Npg.org.uk. 23 October 1994. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
Further reading
Gibson, Wilfrid (1961). Paintings and Drawings by Pietro Annigoni and Some of His Past
and Present Students - Exhibition catalogue 25th April to 3rd June 1961. Federation of
British Artists.

External links
Official website (http://www.annigoni.info)

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