The Life of Renato Vernizzi

Renato Vernizzi was born in Parma on 1 July 1904, in the Oltretorrente neighbourhood (literally "the other side of the river").

Son of Ettore, ceiling and stained glass decorator, it is in his father's workshop that he comes into contact with the world of colors and develops his passion for painting.

After attending the Institute of Fine Arts in his city, in 1930 he moved to Milan where he worked as a draftsman and illustrator, without however abandoning painting.

Thus he approaches "Chiarismo", in search of intensity of light and color.

His friendships include some exponents of the movement, in particular with Angelo Del Bon, Umberto Lilloni and Adriano Spilimbergo, with whom he participates in important exhibitions.

In 1941 he received the "Bergamo Landscape Award" with the work "Carrozzella al mare". Numerous other awards followed and invitations to the Venice and Milan Biennials and the Rome Quadriennale.

In the same year, 1941, he married the painter Maria Teresa Cavalli: from this union the children Luca and Isabella were born.

Vernizzi will dedicate numerous and beautiful portraits to his wife.

Children are among the painter's favorite subjects. Alone, together, Vernizzi follows their growth: in the expressions, in the habits, in the changing physique, you can see the flow of life.

The everyday life, so present in Vernizzi's works, can be found in this photo in which the painter teaches his son to paint, transmitting to him that art he himself learned in his father's workshop.

The production of the 1950s is characterized by a profound study of the portrait, which leads him to look with interest at painters such as Diego Velázquez, Frans Hals, Francisco Goya, Édouard Manet and Giovanni Boldini.

The subject of the painting is his friend Berto Montacchini, the realization of which can be seen in the previous image.

In 1953, Vernizzi dedicated three portraits to master Arturo Toscanini, which pay homage to one of the great protagonists of Italian and international cultural life of the twentieth century.

In 1955 he obtained the chair of Figure at the Art Institute of Parma, a position he held until 1971.

Always attentive to the most vital movements of his time, Renato Vernizzi was able to find a personal and independent way of painting, expressing himself with a language of deep lyricism.

In his work emerges the ability to interpret reality through the use of an emotional register of extraordinary strength and expressive sensitivity.

After a severe illness, he died in Milan on January 18, 1972.