Corrado Mezzana, Georgiche, Large Oil Painting on Canvas, 1931

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Description

Corrado mezzana (italian 1890-1952) was a well-known painter

oil in canvas, museum quality piece
title: "georgica" (official archive)
artwork dimensions: … Read more Corrado mezzana (italian 1890-1952) was a well-known painter

oil in canvas, museum quality piece
title: "georgica" (official archive)
artwork dimensions: 132 x 102cm
period: 1931
signed: c. Mezzana (lower left corner)
decipting a late 1800s country scene (sardegna) with 5 figures in the period fashion induments. The boy is playing his "zampogna" (typical sardinia ancient instrument as a highlands pipe - uilleann bagpipe) meantime the four "georgica's" carefully are lessoning him
conditions: absolutely beautiful with extensive conservative work done including; deep cleaning (old varnish/dirt removed), wax method partial (border) relining, minor retouching, and a fresh coat of damar
offered unframed


provenance - mezzana archive (see last picture plz)
the last ownership (monti family - milano) bought in 1953
original title and production year (1931) received directly from his grandson who after attesting his originality, sent me a picture of an antique previous "study" regarding a left couple of "georgiche" (or contadine aka: country girls) before this original painting was produced

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research and sources

the sacred heart of cm, in christian art , xi (1923), 6, pp. 161 s .;
cm, in revue moderne , 15 apr. 1925, pp. 13 s .;
il glauco by c. M. , in corriere d'italia , 28 may 1927;
the new chapel of the relics in s. Croce, in l'osservatore romano, 18th apr. 1930;
m. Mirabella, the virgil stamps , in fiamma viva , xi (1931), pp. 229-235;
p. Scarpa, the monumental crypt to the military chaplains in the church of s. Caterina in magnanapoli , in il messaggero , 1st november. 1933;
n. Pende, art and typological science in the sacred heart of cm , in roman rassegna , ix (1937), pp. 31-35; mg franci,
the vatican issues of the war years , in the philatelic yearbook , rome 1945, pp. 29-34;
e. Diena, parla cm, the artist of our stamps , in italy philatelic , iv (1946), 22-23, pp. 245-251;
est-ce vraiment possible ?, in l'observateur de genève , xx (1951), 1, p. 6;
artisan candidates in rome. C. M. , in italian craftsmanship , v (1952), 9, p. 4;
e. Amadei, memory of cm the man and the artist , in il quotidiano , 24 w. 1952;
l. Palermo, philately. Memory of cm , in il giornale , oct. 17. 1952; r. Michetti, e. Martire and c. M., rome 1953, pp. 11-15;
cm exhibition postuma (catal.), rome 1953 (with extensive bibliography);
r. Michetti, c. M. , in faith and art , 1953, n. 4, pp. 107-114;
vice, c. M. , in il giornale d'italia , 12 april 1953; f. Zeri, italian stamps \. ,
history of italian art , ix, 1, torino 1980, pp. 315-318;
o. Orsini, the stamp in history and art , rome 1981, pp. 117, 142, 144, 147, 150;
f. Filanci - l. Mezzana zilli, the art of the stamp: cm , bologna 1990;
h. Waga, known and unknown life of the virtues at the pantheon, rome 1992, pp. 51, 80;
p. Mezzana, the popes in the stamps of c. M. , in il dialogo , ii (2005), 4, p. 18.


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bio

he was born in rome on 7 june 1890 by giuseppe, an official of the post office, and rosa morelli.
in 1906, at the same time as his high school studies, he attended the studio of the landscape painter p.
joris. The training then continued at the free school of the nude at the institute of fine arts (1908-10) and
at the university of rome, where he graduated in jurisprudence in 1912 with the thesis legislation of fine
arts and antiquities, published the following year in rome.

starting from 1906, the first charcoal portraits are also documented ( cm , 1953, p.11) and from 1911 the
works with a social subject such as port unloaders ( ibid. , table 1).

in 1914 mezzana got in touch with g. Giovannoni and f. Hermanin, through which he developed a keen
interest in architecture. In the same year he participated with naked man in the painting competition of the
regia accademia di s. Luca (rome, accademia di s. Luca, inv. 957) and obtained the qualification to teach
drawing in technical schools and artistic institutes. Moreover, he exhibited the oil painting rinascita at the
exhibition of the society of amateurs and lovers of fine arts in rome, which saw him annually present until
1928 with the consecration of chinese bishops (1927, reprinted in cm \. , 1983, pl. 9).

in the same period, in tune with the widespread taste in the capital of those years, mezzana matured a predilection for the
crepuscular atmospheres ( dante al monastero del corvo , 1914, rome, mezzana collection), represented with a connatural sentimental vein and a spelling dry and sharp.

in 1915 he was invited to the san francisco international exposition, where he presented the antoninian
baths and began to teach drawing in the michelangelo buonarroti circle and in the ornamental arts school of
the municipality of rome.

during the war period mezzana suspended the activity of scholar and artist to devote himself to the
organization of the military hospital de merode of rome (1916-17) and was then an artillery officer
(1917-18).

in 1919 he married albertina giorelli, with whom he had six children, and began working as a production
designer in the production company tespi film in rome (1919-22).

in 1922 he created the first framework of social engagement, glauco (1922; rome, mezzana collection), with
a clear symbolist imprint, in the wake of the masonry works of a. De carolis and a. Calcagnodoro.
the evocative and didactic approach is characteristic of the works of mezzana, especially in this period
( elegi abiectus esse in domo dei , 1926, cm \. , 1953, plate 7), with the exception of landscapes, where he
expressed his best his artistic qualities, painting with scrupulous respect for the truth ( dogliani , 1928, ibid .,
plate 11).

in the same years he carried on the work of publicist and from the pages of the catholic magazine gioventù
nuova (1914-24) he came to the heart of the issues of historical-artistic philology. He also continued his
exhibition activity by participating in the second and third rome biennial in 1923 and 1925. In the latter he
exhibited a collection of decorations and the sketch for the altarpiece, christ between s. Catherine of siena and
s. Margherita alaquoque (1922), realized for the chapel of the sacred heart in the basilica of s. Maria sopra
minerva. At the same climate and in the same period belong the tempera dedicated to the life of s. Giovanni
bosco (1929, turin, institute of the salesians) and the cartoons for the stained glass and mosaics of the
chapel of the relics in s. Croce in gerusalemme in rome ( cm \. , 1953, plate 13), pervaded by a
pictorialism and expressive sentimentality pathetic tones.

from the beginning of the thirties, the main focus of interest was the commitment to artistic issues as a
scholar and conservative. Designed, assisted by a. Muñoz, the crypt under the church of s. Caterina
magnanapoli (1933) and obtained the setting up of the hall of industry and craftsmanship at the augustan
show of rome (rome, 1937).

especially after 1930 mezzana devoted himself to the study of a series of
great figures: leonardo da vinci, gl bernini, giotto di bondone. In the sphere of the most markedly
philological research there are also the interventions that he held at the beato angelico institute of studies
of sacred art in rome ( the themes of sacred painting, the concept of deformation and sacred art, rome 1936) and the
prolutations that he published repeatedly in the journal faith and work (1937).

in his artistic production of these years there is a crystallization on formulas of classical academicism,
especially in sacred works (in rome: last supper , 1937, s. Eustachio, at the tomb of lazarus , 1940, st. Teresa
of the child jesus panfilo), while in the sketches of postage stamps, to which he devoted himself diligently
since the 1930s, mezzana was able to synthesize the compositional complexity of the details and the
expressive immediacy of the allegory.

the virgiliania series dates back to 1930, when the subjects taken from the eneide are interpreted according
to a perfect classical style, granting renaissance, mannerist and neoclassical models with photographic and
cinematographic technical solutions (zeri, figs. 387-390). Subsequently he was commissioned the models of
the main series issued by the fascist regime, including, in 1932, the one for the tenth anniversary of the
march on rome; in 1938 the series on the proclamation of the empire and in 1941 the series on the romeberlin axis.

from 1936 to 1952 he was the author of the papal issues, of which we recall the series for the coronation of pius xii (1940) and that dedicated to the history of the basilica of st. Peter, posthumously
released in 1953.

during the 1940s mezzana continued to produce stamps and to paint works in a pictorial style of easy visual
impact ( il grano , 1940, rome, national institute of social security), st. Francis and the franciscan saints (1948;
marcianise, s . Francis). At the same time, stimulated above all by the situation that had arisen in the
immediate post-war period and by the close collaboration with the pontifical central commission for
religious art in italy (1945), engaged in the recovery of damaged churches, he dedicated himself to raising
awareness his writings are the questions concerning the defense and conservation of the fine arts ( mosaics
and frescoes destroyed , in ecclesia, iii [1944], 7, pp. 14-17).

his commitment also turned in favor of crafts, promoting in 1945 the national center of crafts, which he left in 1947 to take over the presidency of the
national agency for the craft industry and small industries of rome (enapi).

mezzana died in rome on september 15th. 1952.

in 1990, on the occasion of the centenary of his birth, mezzana was honored with a stamp issued by the
italian post office. The series of its stamps are documented in the historical museum of posts and
telecommunications of rome and in the philatelic and numismatic museum of the vatican city.

i have official proof of authenticity such as vintage catalogs,
designer records,
or other literature sources and take full responsibility for any authenticity issues arising
from
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