Giovanni Giacometti | Post-Impressionist painter

Giovanni Ulrico Giacometti (1868-1933) was a Swiss painter of the beginning of the 20th century.

He is the father of the famous sculptors Alberto and Diego Giacometti and the architect Bruno Giacometti, as well as the cousin of the painter and poster designer Augusto Giacometti.

Giovanni Giacometti was born in Stampa, the Grisans on March 7th, 1868.

Encouraged by his teacher, the young Giacometti entered on the artistic career and moved to Munich in 1886 to attend the school of arts and crafts.

There Giacometti met Cuno Amiet, who became his close friend and with whom he studied the works of the French impressionists.

Supported by his parents, Giacometti moved along with Amiet to Paris in 1888.

He went to the spring salon, where he was deeply impressed by some paintings.

There, Giacometti met for the first time the works of Gianni Segantini, whom he got to know in person later on.

Running short of money, Giacometti was forced to return to Stampa in 1891: a period of loneliness and lack of inspiration.

However, the exhibition of his first works in the "Nationale Kunstausstellung" in Bern and the commission for a portrait made a small profit.

On the proceeds, Giacometti travelled to Rome and Naples.

In 1894 he met Segantini, with whom he formed a deep friendship ever since.

Segantini designed in 1897 the idea of a panorama of the Engadine for the Suisse pavilion at the world exhibition in Paris in 1900.

Giacometti was supposed to cooperate on the project, but it ran out of money.

In 1900 he married and settled in Borgonovo, where his son Alberto was born in 1901, followed by three other children.

At this point of time a phase of artistic emancipation began and with the examination of his French examples, Giacometti outgrew Hodler's powerful influence.

In 1912 Giacometti was invited to exhibit in Dresden with artists of the "Brücke".

In the same year, Giacometti had a large success with an exhibition in the "Kunsthaus" in Zurich, in 1920 his works were exhibited in Bern.

Several other international solo-exhibitions followed.

The last years, the artist spent in the quiet of Stampa. Giovanni Giacometti is regarded as mediator of modern French and Italian art assets.

This way he made a substantial contribution to the renewal of Suisse painting in the 20th century.

Along with Cuno Amiet, Giovanni Giacometti belongs to the representatives of typical "Suisse Colourism".

Giacometti, Giovanni - nascita 7.3.1868 Stampa, morte 25.6.1933 Glion (com. Montreux), rif., di Stampa.

Figlio di Alberto, panettiere a Varsavia, Bergamo e Stampa, e di Caterina Ottilia Santi. Cugino di secondo grado di Augusto. Annetta Stampa, figlia di Giovanni.

Dopo la scuola cant. a Coira (1884-86), si recò a Monaco, dove seguì una formazione artistica presso la scuola di arti applicate e due scuole d'arte private (1886-88).

Non fu ammesso all'Acc. poiché la sua preparazione fu ritenuta insufficiente.

A Monaco incontrò Cuno Amiet, al quale rimase legato da amicizia per tutta la vita.

Dal 1888-1891 visse a Parigi con Amiet, dove entrambi furono allievi dell'Acc. Julian; trascorreva i mesi estivi in Svizzera (tra l'altro presso Frank Buchser).

Dal gennaio all'ottobre 1893 compì un viaggio in Italia; in seguito visse stabilmente nella valle Bregaglia.

Nel 1894 conobbe Giovanni Segantini, che fu suo amico e mentore fino alla morte.

Nel 1898 espose con successo insieme ad Amiet e Ferdinand Hodler al Künstlerhaus di Zurigo.

Da allora presentò ogni anno le sue opere in grandi città europee.

La sua vasta produzione comprende spec. autoritratti, composizioni di figure, nature morte e ampi paesaggi della valle Bregaglia.

Si ispirò alle correnti artistiche moderne, che elaborò in chiave personale, dedicando particolare attenzione allo studio del colore e della luce e maturando uno stile caratterizzato da intensi valori cromatici.

Esponente di spicco della pittura moderna in Svizzera, fu membro della commissione fed. delle belle arti (1918-21, 1931-32). | Fonte: Elisabeth Ellenberger © Dizionario Storico della Svizzera, Berna.