Rizzo Pippo
Corleone 1897, Palermo 1964
Born in Corleone, in the province of Palermo, to Pasquale Rizzo, known as Nino, and Rosa Trentacoste, cousin of the sculptor Domenico[1], he moved to the Sicilian capital to attend the Academy where he was a pupil of Ettore De Maria Bergler. He discovered Futurism during a trip to Rome. He was fascinated by it and influenced his later works, also founding a Futurist circle in his hometown. In Palermo he entered into a partnership with Vittorio Corona and Giovanni Varvaro. He was the leader of Sicilian Futurism, in close contact with Marinetti, and organised the National Futurist Exhibition in Palermo in 1927.
His works were exhibited for the first time at the Venice Biennale in 1926,[3] and again in 1928. In 1929 he became Secretary of the Fascist Union of Sicilian Artists. The logo of Palermo Calcio in 1929 is his. From 1930 he distanced himself from Futurism to move closer to the themes of the twentieth century, following the turning point of Carlo Carrà, which he expressed in his participation in the Rome Quadrennial in 1931[4].
In 1936 he was appointed director of the Academy of Fine Arts in Palermo. His works were exhibited at the Galleria d'Arte Moderna in Palermo[5] and at the Galleria d'Arte Moderna in Rome.[6] Among Pippo Rizzo's students were Gino Speciale, Giovanni Varvaro and Renato Guttuso. Some young Sicilian artists regularly frequented his studio; among them Lia Pasqualino Noto, Giovanni Barbera and Nino Franchina who, together with Renato Guttuso, formed the Gruppo dei Quattro.
His homages to the "paladins" began in the 1950s. From 1960 to 1962 he was director of the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome[7]. In the last years of his life he enthusiastically resumed expressing himself through sculpture, as he had done in his youth, in imaginative forms with marble, alabaster and brass. He was a lively organiser of many artistic events and a discoverer of young talents. Rizzo is also remembered for his famous portraits of the Carabinieri[8]. In 1991 the civic museum of Corleone was named after him.
Available works
