Giovanni Segantini - a Short Biography

Italian Divisionist Painter Showing at National Gallery

Jul 12, 2008 Frances Spiegel

2008 is the 150th anniversary of the birth of Giovanni Segantini. London's National Gallery are exhibiting his work and that of his associates, the Divisionists.

Giovanni Segantini, an Italian artist from a poor background, achieved international success during his own lifetime with the guidance and sponsorship of Vittore Grubicy de Dragon.

Early Life and Training

Giovanni Segantini was born in 1858 into a poor family in Arco, at the northern end of Lake Garda. His mother died in 1865 and his father in 1866. A rebellious child, he spent some of his childhood with relatives who frequently left him to his own devices. At the age of seven he ran away to the mountains and worked as a herdsman and was eventually employed in his stepbrother's photography store. In 1873 Segantini moved to Milan to be apprenticed to a photographer and decorative painter. At the same time he was enrolled in evening classes at the Accademia di Belle Arti de Brera. Segantini also attended classes in ornamental and landscape painting. He proved to be a good student and won many medals and awards.

Segantini's Relationship with Vittore de Grubicy de Dragon

In 1879 Segantini's talent was recognised by the art dealer and painter Vittore de Grubicy de Dragon after he (Segantini) exhibited at the annual exhibition of the Brera Academy. Grubicy's attention was drawn to The Choir of Saint Anthony and he and Segantini entered into an agreement whereby Grubicy provided Segantini with an annuity and handled the sales of his paintings. Segantini exhibited both locally and abroad all sponsored by Grubicy.

Luminosity in Landscapes

In 1885 Segantini started to produce large landscapes and from 1886 took an interest in a new technique known as Divisionism where the divided brushstroke incorporated luminosity and brilliance into paintings. On Grubicy's advice Segantini moved his wife and four children to Savognin in Switzerland to take advantage of the clean air and exceptional light quality.

In 1894, after falling out with Grubicy, Segantini moved with his family to Maloja in the Engadine (eastern Switzerland) to concentrate on painting peasant life and nature. Some of his works from this period have recently featured in an exhibition at London's National Gallery: Radical Light, Italy's Divisionist Painters 1891-1910, where the gallery was dominated by Spring in the Alps painted in 1897. The painting reflects the spectacular light quality of the region.

Life, Nature and Death

Segantini exhibited in many shows and in the late 1890s was asked to create a large panorama for the Swiss pavilion as part of Paris's 1900 Exposition Universelle. Although the commission was financed by a number of Engadine hotels it still had to be scaled down. As a result Segantini painted a smaller triptych featuring the Schafberg Mountain, Life, Nature and Death (1896-9). While painting the central panel, Nature, Segantini was struck down by peritonitis and died at the age of 41.

Segantini Museum

Although he died young Giovanni Segantini was one of the few 19th century Italian painters to build up an international reputation during his own lifetime. In 1908, a few years after his death, the Segantini Museum opened in St. Moritz and continues to celebrate his life and work one hundred years later.

Sources:

Fraquelli, S., (et al.) Radical Light: Italy's Divisionist Painters 1891-1910, National Gallery Company Limited, 2008
Tosini, A.S., "Segantini, Giovanni" Grove Art Online, Oxford Art Online. (11 Jul.2008)

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Spring in the Alps 1897 Giovanni Segantini	Giovanni Segantini, Self-Portrait	Vittore Grubicy by Segantini, 1887
The Choir of Saint Anthony, Segantini, 1879