In Rancate a major exhibition dedicated to Carlo Bossoli, among the most appreciated artists of the 19th century

The Pinacoteca Cantonale Giovanni Züst in Rancate presents from October 20, 2024 to February 23, 2025 a major exhibition dedicated to Carlo Bossoli (Lugano, 1815 - Turin, 1884), an artist from Ticino by origin, Italian by adoption and cosmopolitan by vocation. Curated by Sergio Rebora, with scientific coordination by Mariangela Agliati Ruggia and Alessandra Brambilla, the exhibition entitled Carlo Bossoli (1815-1884). Globetrotting Painter between the Royal Courts and the Magical Orient brings together more than 100 works, many of them exhibited for the first time, from Italian and Swiss public institutions and important private collections, to document the different aspects of Bossoli’s artistic production, as well as those of his nephew Francesco Edoardo (Odessa, 1830 - Turin, 1912), also an artist, to whom a section of the exhibition is dedicated.

Born in Lugano in 1815 and having moved to Odessa as a child, Bossoli attracted the attention of Governor Michail Voroncov and his wife Elizaveta, who also entrusted other Ticino craftsmen with prestigious works to beautify the city. In 1840 he returned to Italy, where he documented historical events such as the Five Days of Milan in 1848. The artist became famous throughout Europe for his views and portraits appreciated by the nobility and the more sophisticated bourgeoisie. The Savoy elected him “Our Painter of History” and commissioned 150 works, including temperas and lithographs, to document the Kingdom’s railway enterprises, particularly the birth of the Turin-Genoa, but also other historical events. 105 temperas recount the Piedmont and national wars of 1859, 1860 and 1861, the years of Italian Unification.

Nobles and wealthy bourgeois commissioned him to paint views of their gardens and palaces. He was a successful artist, but could not last long anywhere. He visited England, Ireland, Russia, Spain, Morocco, capturing the essence of19th-century exoticism. In the exhibition, the section devoted to this theme includes a reconstruction of a “Turkish-style” period room with furnishings by Piedmontese cabinetmaker Giuseppe Parvis, evoking the era’s taste for the Orient. Settling in Turin from 1853 with his sister Giovanna and nephew Francesco Edoardo, he built an oriental-style mansion there, a symbol of his many travels. He died in the Piedmontese city but was buried in Lugano cemetery.

The exhibition, with an illustrated catalog that includes contributions from Italian and Swiss scholars, offers an opportunity to rediscover the artist.

For info you can visit the Pinacoteca website.

Image: Carlo Bossoli, Villa Taverna at Torno on Lake Como (1846; tempera on paper, 38 x 58 cm; Como, private collection)

In Rancate a major exhibition dedicated to Carlo Bossoli, among the most appreciated artists of the 19th century

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