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From the Old World to Rio Grande do Sul
Born in the province of Bergamo, Italy, in 1915, Aldo Daniele Locatelli made a significant contribution to the field of Fine Arts in Rio Grande do Sul.
São Francisco de Paula Cathedral
In the image, Locatelli is working at the cathedral in Pelotas. While some historians suggest that he came by direct invitation from Bishop Dom Antônio Zattera, others indicate that the proposal might have come from his friend, the also painter Emilio Sessa.
Italian Masters in Gaúcho Lands
In her thesis, Professor Doctor of Arts Luciana Oliveira explains that three Italians came to work on the church in Pelotas in 1948: Locatelli, Sessa, and Adolfo Gadoni. Detail of the cathedral dome.
Locatelli's goal was to complete the work and return to his homeland, but Brazil — and Rio Grande do Sul — would captivate the artist who would soon move to the capital of the gauchos.
The Master in the Room
The 1950s indeed radically changed Locatelli's plans. In 1951, at the invitation of Tasso Corrêa, Locatelli took over the Decorative Arts discipline at the then Institute of Fine Arts (IBA), filling the vacancy left by the passing of Joseph Lutzenberger.
He would serve as interim chair until the early end of his life in 1962. This position was also definitive for his naturalization as a Brazilian citizen.
From Temples to the Palace
The artist's growing reputation brought him new work offers. When he moved to Porto Alegre and took up a chair at the Fine Arts Institute, he was awarded a contract to decorate the halls of the Piratini Palace, at the time still called the Government Palace, as a muralist.
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Closer to Heaven, the state mountain
With the Government Palace halls underway, it wasn't long before Father Eugênio Giordani hired him to decorate the Church of São Pelegrino in Caxias do Sul.
The ceiling of the church is Locatelli's great Renaissance work. The paintings form a large cross, at the base of which is the painting of the Creation of the Cosmos, inspired by the aesthetics of Raphael Sanzio, in which the omnipotent figure of God is superimposed on Creation.
The Via Crucis of the Body
Five years after completing the ceiling of the São Pelegrino Church, Aldo Locatelli was called upon again by Father Eugênio Giordani. The request was now for the stations of the Way of the Cross, the final work for the church and for the artist in Caxias do Sul.
It took another three years to complete the 14 paintings, each measuring 2.50m by 1.80m. During the studies, Locatelli photographed himself in the positions he imagined for Jesus' body in the work, to extract the greatest anatomical reality possible.
Aldo Locatelli's “The Way of the Cross” on display in the churchPiratini Palace
Researcher Luiz Ernesto Brambatti observes that the artist "incorporated elements of daily life, in an expressionist language, using modern elements linked to the image." This explains the presence of a shoe thrown at Jesus.
Locatelli at the Piratini Palace on February 22, 1955 (1955-02-22)Piratini Palace
Spaces of Power and the Power of Art
In a newspaper from February 1955 we can see Aldo Locatelli's silhouette in front of one of the murals in the Government Palace. After about five years, the work that had begun at the beginning of the decade was nearing completion.
Formação do Rio Grande do Sul (1953) by Aldo LocatelliPiratini Palace
The mural in the newspaper, the largest painted in the Palace, helped shape the self-image that the State needed in the post-War sociocultural context. "The historical-ethnographic formation of the Rio Grande do Sul state" sought to synthesize the gaucho identity at that time.
Estado Riograndense (1954) by Aldo LocatelliPiratini Palace
The Rio Grande do Sul State
The only vertical mural of the Palace's 23 murals is an allegory about the state trying to leave its warlike past behind and enter modernity.
To understand the context of the Palace murals and the issues related to the gaucho identity tied to them, the Palace created a video that explains these artworks in depth.
Contract signed by Aldo LocatelliPiratini Palace
A Popular Legend in the People's House
In the image, the contract signed by Locatelli. The document provided for the creation of 23 murals. Among the murals were 18 depicting the gaucho legend “Negrinho do Pastoreio” on the walls and ceiling of the Palace's main hall.
Floor plan of the Negrinho do Pastoreio HallPiratini Palace
In the main hall plan, it is possible to visualize the arrangement of the murals.
Cavalo Assustado (1951/1955) by Aldo LocatelliPiratini Palace
The dissemination of Simões Lopes Neto's 1920 work, as well as the establishment of his version as the most prominent in the popular imagination of Rio Grande do Sul, supports the choice of the legend as the most representative of southern folklore.
Elevação do Negrinho (1951/1955) by Aldo LocatelliPiratini Palace
Through oral tradition, the legend of the enslaved boy who ascends to heaven through the intervention of the Virgin Mary was already circulating in Rio Grande do Sul even before the 19th century. However, the version described by Lopes Neto would definitely occupy a place in folk imaginary
“The Conquest of Space” detail (1953)Piratini Palace
The Conquest of Space
With 50 square meters and completed in 1953, the work references the history of aeronautics and was originally painted in terminal 2 of the old Salgado Filho airport.
A Conquista do Espaço (1953)Piratini Palace
The work depicts from Leonardo da Vinci, who in the 15th century designed a flying machine, to Santos Dumont, known in Brazil as the Father of Aviation.
Painters Aldo Locatelli, Emílio Sessa and Attílio Pisoni pose in front of The Conquest of SpacePiratini Palace
The Conquest of Space was painted by Aldo Locatelli, in partnership with two other Italian artists, Emílio Sessa and Attílio Pisoni. With 50 square meters, it was completed in 1953.
The ArtsPiratini Palace
The arts
The mural “The Arts,” located on the 8th floor of the Institute of Arts (UFRGS) building, was created for the school's fiftieth anniversary. It was inaugurated in April 1958 on the occasion of the First Brazilian Art Congress and the First Pan American Art Salon.
As ProfissõesPiratini Palace
The Professions
In detail, the oil on canvas aims to honor the didactic, scientific, technological, and cultural role of Universities. Both "The Arts" and "The Professions" reinforce Locatelli's importance not only for the arts but for the academic scene.
Institutions such as the Museum of Art of Rio Grande do Sul (MARGS) have over the decades received and safeguarded works by Aldo Locatelli, such as those shown in the image - dated 1962 and 1956 (from left to right). These are actions that incorporate institutional intangible values of authorship and memory.
Os fundadores de Porto Alegre by Aldo LocatelliPiratini Palace
The Founders of Porto Alegre
At the beginning of the 1960s, Aldo Locatelli received the commission for the mural that would be the swan song of his work in institutional spaces. The mura is a synthesis of the culture, history, and politics of the land the artist embraced.
Aldo Locatelli em 1958 (1958)Piratini Palace
Farewell to the Master of Colors
The Italian, who as well as mixing paints and pigments made himself part of Rio Grande do Sul, died on September 3, 1962. With contracts signed and work yet to be finished, his students continued to complete their work.
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