Giuseppe Capogrossi biography

Giuseppe Capogrossi, born in Rome on 7 March 1900, is an eminent Italian painter, a leading figure in the Roman School and in the movement t12>informal art in Italy. Belonging to a noble family, he graduated in Law from the Sapienza University of Rome. His passion for painting led him to study with Felice Carena and Giambattista Conti, an expert in frescoes.
From 1923 to 1924, Giuseppe Capogrossi attended the Libera Scuola di Nudo in Felice Carena, one of the most prestigious schools in Rome. His first exhibition took place in 1927 at the Pensione Dinesen in Rome. In these years, he made numerous trips to Paris, the cultural center of the time, where he was influenced by the works of Pablo Picasso, Amedeo Modigliani, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir . His initial works are influenced by this Parisian influence, showing a figurative and tonal painting that is linked to classical Italian sources. In 1930, he participated in the XXVII Venice Biennale, marking the beginning of a constant presence in important artistic exhibitions. In 1932, together with Corrado Cagli, Emanuele Cavalli and Eloisa Michelucci, he exhibited at the Galleria Roma and subsequently in Milan and Paris. These exhibitions consolidate his role in the Roman School. In 1933, Capogrossi signed the "Manifesto of Plastic Primordialism" and in 1935 he participated in the "Exhibition of Contemporary Italian Painting" in San Francisco.
During the Second World War, Giuseppe Capogrossi begins a transformation in his artistic research, gradually moving towards abstractism. This evolution manifests itself in works with bright colors and an animated brushwork. His first abstraction dates back to the post-war period, expressing a sign language of post-cubist origin . In 1949, his works already show a well-articulated personal vocabulary. This language develops into a unique sign-form, which combining in infinite variations builds the space of the painting, symbolically representing an internal spatial organization.
In 1950, Giuseppe Capogrossi took part in the foundation of the Origine Group, together with Mario Ballocco, Alberto Burri and Ettore Colla, promoting the ideals of abstraction. In this period, he formed an important relationship with Carlo Cardazzo, owner of the Il Cavallino galleries in Venice and Il Naviglio in Milan, signing an exclusive contract which promoted his art also abroad.
Giuseppe Capogrossi obtained international recognition, such as the prize for painting at the XXXI Venice Biennale in 1962 and the "Twenty Years of Biennale" prize at the S. Paolo Biennale in Brazil in 1971. He taught "Figure drawing" at the Liceo Artistico in Rome from 1940 to 1966 and "Decoration " at the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples from 1966 to 1970.
His works are exhibited in important galleries and museums, such as the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation in New York and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice. The National Gallery of Modern Art in Rome dedicated a room to him in 1968 and a retrospective in 1974.
After his death on 9 October 1972, the Capogrossi Archive Foundation was established to enhance and protect his work . This foundation collects vast documentary and book material, making it available to scholars and researchers. Another important documentary collection is preserved at the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rome.
Giuseppe Capogrossi is an artist who has profoundly marked the Italian and international artistic panorama, with a path that goes from classical figuration to abstractionism , influencing generations of artists and leaving a cultural legacy of great value.