Emilio Pettoruti facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Emilio Pettoruti
Born	October 1, 1892 (1892-10) La Plata, Argentina
Died	October 16, 1971 (1971-10-17) (aged 79) Paris, France
Nationality	Argentine

Emilio Pettoruti (1892–1971) was an Argentine painter. He became famous for his modern art, especially his Cubist style. In 1924, his art show in Buenos Aires caused a stir because it was so new and different.

The early 1900s were an exciting time for art in Buenos Aires. Pettoruti's career really took off in the 1920s. This was a time when Argentina was exploring new ideas about what "modern" art meant. Pettoruti was inspired by styles like Cubism, Futurism, Constructivism, and Abstraction. However, he didn't stick to just one style. He showed his art all over Europe and Argentina. Emilio Pettoruti is remembered as one of the most important artists in Argentina during the 20th century. People loved his unique way of seeing the world and painting it.

Biography

Emilio Pettoruti was born in La Plata, Argentina, on October 1, 1892. His family was from Italy and was quite well-off. The modern, geometric design of La Plata, with its "silver color of changing tones," influenced his art.

When Emilio was just 14, he joined the local Academy of Fine Arts. But he soon left because he felt he could learn more on his own. He then studied with Emilio Coutaret, an architect and teacher. There, he learned to draw funny pictures called caricatures. One of his caricatures helped him get a scholarship to study abroad.

In 1913, he won a travel scholarship to Italy. He studied the works of famous Renaissance painters in Florence. These included Fra Angelico, Masaccio, and Giotto. The art and architecture of 14th-century Florence had a big impact on him. He was interested in the geometric shapes used by medieval mosaic artists. He also admired the balance in early Renaissance paintings. All these influences found their way into his own artwork.

Time in Europe

While in Europe, Pettoruti met many new and exciting artists. He discovered the growing style of Futurism. He also became good friends with the Peruvian writer Jose Carlos Mariategui. Pettoruti started reading Lacerba, a Futurist magazine from Florence. It featured literature and art from the movement. He met other Futurist artists and showed his work at the Herwarth Walden's Der Sturm Gallery in Berlin. In Paris, he met Juan Gris, who inspired him to try a Cubist style.

Pettoruti chose art as his career after his grandfather, Josè Casaburi, saw his artistic talent. In 1913, a politician named Rodolfo Sarrat asked him to create a work. This helped Pettoruti travel to Europe to study art. The idea of tall city streets appeared in his art in 1917. An example is his painting Mi Ventana en Florencia (My Window in Florence).

Return to Argentina

In Italy, Pettoruti learned a lot about European Modernism. He also studied Italian Renaissance art from the 14th century. In 1924, Pettoruti came back to Argentina. He hoped to make modern art popular in his home country. He showed his art both in Argentina and abroad, and he was very successful.

In 1930, he became the director of the Museo Provincial de Bellas Artes in La Plata. His fame even reached North America. In 1942, Pettoruti visited San Francisco for his first big show in the United States. This show made him even more famous. More museums wanted to display his art. Pettoruti married Maria Rosa González, who later appeared in many of his paintings.

Later Life

Pettoruti decided to leave his job as museum director. The museum was becoming more traditional under President Juan Perón's government. Because of problems and staff changes at universities, Pettoruti went back to Europe in 1952. He continued to paint there. He wrote his autobiography, Un Pintor Ante el Espejo (A Painter Before the Mirror), in Paris in 1968. Pettoruti stayed in Paris until he passed away on October 16, 1971.

Influence in Argentina

When Pettoruti returned to Buenos Aires in 1924, modern European art was not yet popular there. His first art show was not well-received by traditional art critics. However, his good friend Xul Solar wrote about Pettoruti's work. He said that the people of Buenos Aires could either like or dislike his art. But everyone would agree that his art was a strong new force. It would be a starting point for Argentina's future art.

His art was seen as shocking. This was because people were used to paintings of cowboys, landscapes, cattle, and horses. These were the favorite subjects of wealthy landowners who set the art trends.

Modernism and Futurism were not widely accepted at first. But Pettoruti was not completely unknown when he came back to Argentina. Many articles had already been written about him in local Argentine newspapers. Pettoruti's paintings often showed local Argentine themes. But he used a modern, European-inspired style. Even though his style came from his own culture, Buenos Aires quickly adapted to his modern art. He was a bright light of artistic creativity in Buenos Aires in the 1920s. He opened many doors for other artists and the public to explore new art ideas. Pettoruti's bold, modern approach to art had a lasting effect on the art world in Argentina.

Style

Emilio Pettoruti's art was a great example of modern ideas. It showed harmony, order, and precise geometric shapes. His work was almost scientific in its strictness. But it also moved between being poetic and purely spiritual. Pettoruti cared a lot about how he used techniques, light, color, and movement. He managed to keep harmony in his artworks even as his style changed. After seeing Pettoruti's artistic growth, Xul Solar wrote that each step in his art matched a new step in his soul.

The Beginning

When Pettoruti was young, he was discovering his artistic talent. He worked on drawings and caricatures of people. He created so many caricatures that he showed 46 of them at a local newspaper's exhibition hall in Buenos Aires.

Early European Period

While in Italy, Pettoruti was influenced by the growing Futurist movement. He also learned from 14th-century Italian Renaissance art. His art sometimes showed Futurist, Cubist, or abstract qualities. But Pettoruti "rejected any categorization of his art." He didn't want his art to be linked to just one specific movement. This was because he was always changing his style.

He focused on space and shape in his paintings. He thought color was less important. Pettoruti also tried out many different art materials. He designed costumes for theater, set designs, and stained glass windows. He became interested in mosaics. He explored how mosaics could help him share his ideas. He wasn't limited to just one material. Pettoruti even used various items found in garbage dumps in his mosaics. This added texture and made the light catch in different ways. In his early years, he experimented with taking apart everyday objects. Then he put them back together in his own way. He then placed them into his own artistic world. This way of making art applied to all his materials, including mosaics and paintings.

Later Years in Italy: Politics and Art

In 1922, Pettoruti went to Milan. His artwork was influenced by some friends who were part of a group called the Novecento Italiano. This group wanted to "clean up" Italian art. They wanted to bring back traditional ideas in painting, sculpture, and architecture. However, some members of this group were also linked to the Fascist ideas of Mussolini. Pettoruti felt uncomfortable with the rise of this political movement. This might have influenced his decision to leave Italy and return to Argentina.

Musicians and Harlequins

Pettoruti started painting musicians often when he was in Europe. He continued to paint them through the 1920s back in Buenos Aires. The musicians are shown alone or in groups. Their eyes are always hidden. The musicians Pettoruti painted had a cultural link. They were connected to the tango, a unique dance from Buenos Aires. An example is his painting Quinteto (1927). It shows five street musicians in his abstract Cubist style. In 1927, he started painting harlequins instead of musicians. Harlequins also always had their eyes covered by masks. For Pettoruti, harlequins were a good way to show a human figure. But they were anonymous, distant, and general, not specific individuals. One of his first paintings with this theme is Arlequin (1928). It shows a harlequin wearing a mask and playing an instrument like an accordion.

Still Lifes

In his early still lifes, Pettoruti often included similar items. These included bottles, glasses, and musical instruments. He then moved to his Copa series, which was "almost abstract." These paintings used bright, flat areas of color. This made the shapes look flatter. The cup was shown from every possible angle at once: top, bottom, and sides. In his later still lifes, Pettoruti focused on light. He made light a "real part of the picture," not just something to light up the scene. His use of light is clear in many of his still lifes. For example, in Sol Argentino (1941), the sunlight is shown as an "essential life-giving element." It clearly has a strong effect on the painting.

Abstraction

In his later years, Pettoruti's style moved towards pure abstraction. After returning to Europe in 1952, he became very interested in patterns and designs. This was clear from his focus on geometry. He created patterns from sharp-edged shapes. Many of his paintings were completely geometric. He used a type of non-objective painting. This focused on how color could communicate and how shapes could be organized. Pettoruti gave these abstract works very poetic names. Examples include Winter in Paris (1955) and Summer Night (1953).

Significant Works

• Retrato de Cleto Ciochini (1913), Ink on thin cardboard, Private Collection
• El Sifón (1915), Collage, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires
• La Grotta Azzurra di Capri (1918), Oil on canvas, Private Collection, Buenos Aires
• Pensierosa (1920), Oil on canvas, Córdova Iturburu, Buenos Aires
• El Flautista Ciego (1920), oil on board, Private Collection, New York
• La Canción del Pueblo (1927), Oil on wood, Malba Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires
• Quinteto (1927), Oil on plywood, Private Collection, Buenos Aires
• Arlequín (1928), Oil on canvas, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires
• El Improvisador (1937), Oil on canvas, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires
• La Ultima Serenata (The Last Serenade) (1937), Oil on canvas, International Business Machines, New York
• Sol Argentino (1941), Oil on canvas, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires
• Invierno en París (1955), Oil on canvas, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires
• Farfalla (1961), Oil on canvas, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires

Exhibitions

In 1915, Pettoruti had his first solo art show at the Gonelli Gallery in Florence. He displayed 35 works. These included nine drawings, 15 paintings, and eight sketches for mosaics.

In 1923, he showed 35 works at the Der Sturm Gallery in Berlin. Many writers praised his art.

In 1924, he had his first solo show in Buenos Aires. It was at the Galeria Witcomb on Florida street. The show was seen as scandalous. It included 86 works. It wasn't widely accepted because modern art had not yet become popular in Argentina like it had in Europe. Pettoruti saw the show as a "call to action" for those with a different vision. He wanted to encourage Argentines to embrace the new artistic period.

In 1938, Pettoruti showed his art at the Museo Municipal de Bellas Artes in Buenos Aires. The exhibition was called "Tres Expresiones de la Pintura Contemporanea" (Three Expressions of Contemporary Painting). It included works from Pettoruti, Badii, and Spilimbergo.

In 1942, Pettoruti traveled to San Francisco for his first North American show. It was at the San Francisco Museum of Art. The museum bought his Coparmonica (1937) and Quinteto (1927). This show was very important for his career. It helped his art become known in North America. Other museums and private collectors started asking about his work.

Images for kids

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  Emilio Pettoruti around 1960

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  Pettoruti in the 1930s

See also

In Spanish: Emilio Pettoruti para niños