Italico Brass Biography
Italico Brass (Gorizia, 14 December 1870 – Venice, 16 August 1943) was an Italian painter and set designer with irredentist political tendencies. An illustrious painter from Gorizia, an irredentist, he was born on 14 December 1870 to Michele Brass and Maria Happacher, the second of six children. His father, a wine merchant, wanted him to follow in his footsteps but had to give up when he noticed his son's great inclination for painting. It thus allowed him to study in Munich, under the direction of the painter Karl Raupp. He later continued his studies in Paris, with Jean-Paul Laurens, thanks to the financial aid of his brother Riccardo Brass. In that period he met his future wife, Lina Rebecca, whom he married in 1895. Shortly afterwards he returned to Venice and practiced his pictorial activity there while creating, in the Scuola Vecchia di Santa Maria della Misericordia, one of the most important art collections of the time (among the most illustrious paintings were works by Tintoretto, Titian and Veronese), which despite the Second World War being underway were never stolen, but brought by very trustworthy people in order to save them from the German troops. He was present at many international Venetian biennials and exhibitions in various cities in Europe and America. Of particular value are works such as the Portrait of his Wife, In the Footsteps of St. Mark, The Missionary's Tale, The Redentor Bridge, The Bridge on the Lagoon, Vele and numerous landscapes of Venice from life. He deeply loved Venice so much that he was able to grasp every intimate aspect with profound sensitivity. In 1942 he collaborated on the creation of the scenes for the film Canal Grande.
