Alberto Bianchi Biography
Rimini 1882 - Milan 1969 Grandson of the painter Moses Bianchi, he began his activity in Rome and continued it in Milan, dedicating himself in particular to the illustration of newspapers and magazines («Corriere dei Piccoli», «La Lettura», «II Secolo Illustrato») . In the 1930s he created some advertising sketches: in 1933 he created his best-known poster advertising the Fiat Ardita with the image of a girl behind the wheel in an attitude and clothing reminiscent of fascist costume. Painter, illustrator, poster designer. Son and grandson of art: his mother, Anita Sangiorgi, was the founder of the famous "Rimini Tapestry Shop" and the "Sangiorgi Embroidery School" highly appreciated throughout Italy, in the wake of the Aemilia Ars; his uncle was the famous painter Moses Bianchi. After studying at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, as a pupil of Antonio Mancini, he stands out for his portraits with a fast and nervous style (the ones of Gina Lollobrigida and some characters belonging to the House of Savoy are famous: but the portrait of the writer Ferruccio Luppis, to whom he illustrated The Wheel). He also engages in fresco decorations working both in Italy and abroad (King Fuad's theater in Egypt). Very active as an illustrator, he collaborates with numerous newspapers including "Numero", "Lidel", "Novella", il "Secolo illustrato", "La Reading", "II Secolo XX", "II corriere dei Piccoli", "II Milione" and the "Guerrin Meschino" for several years, with unmistakable figures of elegant and mischievous women. Numerous illustrations for book covers, including those of Mondadori's "novels of the rose" and "of the palm", as well as an edition of "The Adventures of Pinocchio" (1942). He created various sketches for successful series of illustrated postcards, characterized by the elegant and frivolous taste of the high society of which he was a frequent visitor. A successful poster artist, among his best-known posters are those for the Fiat "Ardita" and "Ballila" of 1936, for Omsa socks, for the advertisement of the Cassa di Risparmio delle Province Lombarde and for the beach of Rimini. Despite his frequent trips abroad and his gravitation in the elegant artistic and social circles of Milan and Rome, his presence in Rimini was frequent and constant both for the almost monthly visits to his mother and for the emotional bond he wanted to maintain with the lively local artistic environment. Friend of Luigi Pasquini, animator of the Rimini artistic salon since the 1930s, he collaborated on the summer newspapers he directed: "Rimini, the most beautiful beach in the world" (1925-1926), "Rimini, smiles on the beach" (1930), Rimini ( 1931). He also illustrated the Rimini seaside news sheet "Gazzettino Azzurro" with his caricatures. For his painting "Lovers", a popular referendum held as part of the "First National Exhibition of Fine Arts" in Rimini in 1929 marked him among the best Italian painters together with Vittorio Pardo and Gaetano Previati. The only solo exhibition held in his hometown was in 1948. His posters, characterized by the extreme simplification of the lettering, often reduced to just the name of the product or the client, entrust all communication to the image and gestures of the characters who dominate, always , across the board.
