Portrait of Galeazzo Canziani

Galeazzo Canziani (1866-1931), son of a textile merchant with shop in Via Broletto and of Linda Gandini, daughter of the copper engraver Domenico, remains fatherless at age 18 (who dies in poverty, following a financial collapse, after a long illness, right at the Maggiore Hospital). Already a member of the Polytechnic, he can continue the university thanks to scholarships. He graduates in industrial engineering, lives and works abroad for many years, collaborating on prestigious engineering installations. Returning to live in Italy, he was hired as an engineer at the Technical Office of the Municipality of Milan, where he worked on the construction of sewage systems in the city, while in the profession he devoted himself to the design of air conditioning and heating systems. In his will he appoints the Ospedale Maggiore, which commissions the portrait to Italo Josz; the artist uses two photos and scrupulously documents the physical characteristics, attitudes and habitual clothing of the deceased; in fact he says: "I did not neglect any investigation which could determine in me the penetration of the character of the subject". He represents it in his studio in Via Bellotti 5, depicted with detailed precision, next to the drawing board and with a ventilation propeller at his feet.