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Victor Emanuel II Meeting Giuseppe Garibaldi at Teano

Pietro Aldi1886

Fondazione Musei Senesi

Fondazione Musei Senesi
Siena, Italy

Returning to the ancient custom of celebrating important civic or political events on the walls of the Palazzo Pubblico, Siena decided in 1881 to commemorate the death of Victor Emanuel II, the first king of united Italy, by illustrating the main events of his life by the frescoes of the so-called Sala del Risorgimento. The project had another purpose as well; besides paying tribute to the unification of Italy, it also had the open intent to celebrate the modern school of Sienese painting created by Luigi Mussini, who was charged with coordinating the undertaking. He called his closest collaborators and students to execute the paintings between 1886 and 1888.
The grand scenes, illustrated in the upper section of the walls, present episodes from the Risorgimento in which the king was directly involved; on the ceiling, were painted allegorical subjects alluding to the unification of Italy. Both this scene and Victor Emanuel Meeting General Radetsky at Vignale were painted by Pietro Aldi. The meeting took place on 26 October 1860 and was the final episode of Garibaldi’s famous Expedition of the Thousand. Such artwork is one of the most known and appreciated portrait of the “Hero of the Two Worlds” and an icon of Risorgimento throughout Italy.

Details

  • Title: Victor Emanuel II Meeting Giuseppe Garibaldi at Teano
  • Creator Lifespan: 1852 - 1888
  • Creator Nationality: Italian
  • Creator Gender: male
  • Creator Death Place: Manciano (Grosseto)
  • Creator Birth Place: Manciano (Grosseto)
  • Date Created: 1886
  • painter: Pietro Aldi
  • collocation: Siena, Civic Museum and Mangia Tower, Province of Siena
  • Place Part Of: Province of Siena
  • Artist Biography: Pietro Aldi was one of the pupils of Luigi Mussini, the director of the Siena Art Academy in the late XIXth century and the leader of a Puristic style school. His father was a soldier in the Battle of Curtatone and Montanara, so he directly experienced the Risorgimento spirit in his life and both in his artworks. In Siena, he won a prize for studying in Rome, and then he moved to Venice till, once back to its birthplace, he died at the young age of 36.
  • Type: fresco
  • Rights: Comune di Siena; Fondazione Musei Senesi
  • External Link: Fondazione Musei Senesi

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