Biography
Vitali was born at Bellano, on Lake Como, from a family of fishermen. He began painting when he was fifteen, after having worked for the Institute of Graphic Arts of Bergamo. In 1947 he exposed his first work at the Angelicum in Milan, on the occasion of the biennial exhibition of sacred art. In 1949 he came to perform in the biennial exhibition two of his works: Visitazione and Cena in Emmaus receiving enthusiastic appreciations from Carlo Carrà. He awarded a fellowship from the Brera Academy but because his family couldn't afford to maintain him in Milan he renounced it. Thus his concerned decisive moment will result in a long period of silence in his striving to fulfillment.
In 1981 his son Velasco Vitali, painter as well as his father, supported and encouraged him to begin the activity of engraver.
In 1983 Giovanni Testori Associazione Testori after having seen a quartered rabbit wanted to meet the artist. A profound and solid relationship, founded on mutual esteem and admiration, stems from this encounter, which later became a prolonged deep-rooted friendship. The year after Testori dedicated to the artist an article in the third page of the Corriere della Sera and afterwards organized the first solo exhibition of the artist. Thus from that moment on he got to perform in several public and private locations and released a copious series of catalogues and engravings portfolios.
At the end of 1980s he realized lots of public works. Among which the remarkable The Portrays of Benefactors of the Ospedale Maggiore in Milan commissioned by the framework Foundation Ca' Granda.
Read more about this topic: Giancarlo Vitali
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