Medardo Rosso

Place: Turin

Born: 1858

Death: 1928

Biography:

Medardo Rosso was an Italian sculptor who played a significant role in the development of Post-Impressionism. Born in Turin, Italy on June 21, 1858, he is considered one of the most important artists of his time.

Early Life and Education

Rosso's family moved to Milan when he was twelve years old. At the age of 24, after a spell in the army, Rosso enrolled at the Brera Academy, from which he would soon be expelled for his unconventional behavior. In his 1889 almanac of living artists, Angelo de Gubernatis offered a romanticized portrait of Rosso's early years as an artist: (He) rebelled at each school, with each method, with each Academy, abhorring anything that smacked of trade, of artifice, soon found himself alone, without support, without a master, without counsellors, and with a bunch of captive and envious colleagues who tripped him, when he tried his way and to demonstrate his abilities, his ingenuity. Rosso's style began to change after 1882, possibly due to the discovery of Impressionism, and some of his first works during this period, including Portinaia (Concierge) (1883–84) and Carne altrui (Flesh of Others) (1883–84), begin to "suggest a loss of detail in favour of sketchy modelling, flattened planes, and gently modulated surfaces to soften the play of light and shadow." Some art historians have suggested that Rosso travelled to Paris in 1884 and worked in the studio of sculptor Jules Dalou, but no historical record has corroborated this. In Milan, Rosso continued to cast small-scale works throughout the mid-1880s, in addition to a series of entries for public monuments, such as a funeral monument to the critic Filippo Filippi. Rosso relocated to Paris in 1889, where he would live and work until after World War I. While in Paris, he met and impressed a number of influential personalities, including writer Emile Zola, whom Rosso convinced to say that he owned a cast of Birichino, thereby elevating the artist's stature. You can find more information about Medardo Rosso on https://Wikioo.org/@/Medardo-Rosso and his works in https://Wikioo.org/Art.nsf/O/A@D3AVW5 As a sculptor, one of Rosso's principal concerns was to subject the physical mass of sculpture to the transient and ephemeral effects of light. So by means of rough, spontaneous modelling that he would then cast in bronze, plaster, or wax. Rosso maintained a studio in Paris in which he created his own foundry, at a time when most sculptors sent their molds away to professional foundries to be cast. This freedom afforded Rosso the opportunity to manipulate the surfaces of his works in highly unorthodox ways, often retaining what others would have regarded as "casting errors" and elected not to clean away the plaster investment that would be left upon a bronze work after casting. To Rosso, these interventions were designed to create visual or optical effects that by which the materiality of sculpture, as central as it was to his practice, was subordinate the impression of the viewer: Light being of the very essence of our existence, a work of art that is not concerned with light has no right to exist. Without light it must lack unity and spaciousness — it is bound to be small, paltry, wrongly conceived, based necessarily upon matter.... You can find more about Medardo Rosso's biography in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medardo_Rosso For seizing the inner significance of a work of art, we should rely entirely on the visual impression and on the sympathetic echoes it awakens in our memory and consciousness, and not on the touch of our fingers. Medardo Rosso is considered one of the most important artists of his time, and his works can be found in several museums around the world, including the Galleria d'Arte Moderna in Milan. You can find more about Medardo Rosso's style and his works on https://Wikioo.org/@@/D4NL8B-Medardo-Rosso-The-Ragamuffin Medardo Rosso was a true pioneer of Post-Impressionism, and his innovative approach to sculpture continues to inspire artists to this day. You can find more about Medardo Rosso's life and works on https://Wikioo.org/@/Medardo-Rosso In conclusion, Medardo Rosso was a great artist who played a significant role in the development of Post-Impressionism. His innovative approach to sculpture continues to inspire artists today, and his works can be found in several museums around the world. You can find more about Medardo Rosso's biography on https://Wikioo.org/Art.nsf/O/A@D3BS3D Medardo Rosso was a true master of Post-Impressionism, and his legacy continues to be celebrated by art lovers around the world.