Virgilio Guidi (Roma 1891-Venezia 1984)

In 1904 he enrolled at the Technical Institute in Rome, where he developed a passion for geometry and drawing, while attending the Free School of Painting in the evenings. In 1907 he left the Technical Institute to devote himself to practice at the workshop of restorer Giovanni Capranesi, where he worked until 1911, when he enrolled in the Academy of Fine Arts. During this period he deepened his studies of past masters such as Giotto, Piero Della Francesca, Correggio and the French artists Chardin and Courbet. He also became interested in contemporary art, particularly Cézanne and Matisse, and in the Roman context he was fascinated by Spadini's chromaticism. In 1913 he participated in and won the Lana competition, announced by the Academy, and began to exhibit his first works. In 1922 he joined the circle of artists and literati who frequented the third room of the Aragno café, where he met the poet Cardarelli, with whom he established a lasting friendship, also deepening his relationship with Spadini. In 1925, when the painter died, his widow Pasqualina wanted him to occupy her studio, at the aviary in Villa Borghese. In 1924 he exhibited “The Tram” at the 14th Venice Biennale, gaining definitive recognition from critics. In 1926 he took part in the first Novecento Italiano exhibition in Milan, at the Palazzo della Permanente. His success allowed him to devote himself exclusively to his art and participate in the most important official group exhibitions, such as the Venetian Biennales (with solo rooms in 1940, 1954 and 1964), the Quadriennali in Rome, the Sindacali in Padua and Rome, and many others. Between 1952 and 1955 his artistic research developed through recurring thematic cycles such as “Figures in Space,” “Anguish,” “Presences,” “Heads,” and “Marines.” In 1960 he inaugurated the cycle of “Tumults,” followed by “Reflections of Time” and “Human Architectures,” which had further developments in “Cosmic Architectures.” In the 1960s, he returned to focus on the human figure with the “Eyes” and “Prisoner” cycles, influenced by Pop Art. In 1983 he concluded his last cycle, “Man and Sky.”