Anna Chromy Biography
Anna Chromy was born in Cesky Krumlov in 1940 and art has always been part of her life since childhood. He began his artistic training in Vienna on 18 June 1940, and then moved to Paris where he continued his studies at the Sorbonne and with Salvador Dalì, with whom he became friends, and thanks to the brilliant Spanish artist he approached surrealism. Since the end of the Seventies her installations and exhibitions have been located in many parts of the world, and for this reason Anna Chromy can be considered the artist with the largest number of permanent public sculptures, around seventy, present in Europe and China. In 2000, when the city of Prague dedicated a retrospective to the legendary Mozart, it exhibited the Musicians' Fountain and the statue of the Commendatore in front of the theater where Don Giovanni was performed for the first time. He has received numerous awards, such as the Michelangelo Prize in Tuscany and the Dali and Kafka Prize in Prague; honorary member of the Chinese National Sculpture Association, he has exhibited in prestigious places such as Place Vendôme (Paris) and the National Museum of China in Beijing. Since 1988 it has been operating in Pietrasanta, where it works using local foundries and laboratories. In Forte dei Marmi, in Piazza Navari, on the Molo, there are the sculptures Controvento and the Quattro Constellazioni (2001), while in the beautiful Piazza dello Statuto in Pietrasanta you can find La Danzatrice (2003). An important exhibition of the artist is the "Spiritual Archetypes" which are placed along a path that allows you to admire nine beautiful sculptures in evocative places in the center of Pisa, from the train station to Via Oberdan, or the Borgo Largo. We start from the first, large patinated bronze sculpture of 'Sisyphus', the great deceiver considered the father of Ulysses, portrayed eternally pedaling with his partner and little son in Piazza Stazione. Followed by the two works of 'Chronos I' and 'Chronos II', which personify time as the master and tyrant of men, not far from 'Alcyon', the personification of love, and the three balanced athletes united by a purpose of ' Olympic Spirit': all contained in the large Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II. Further ahead, near Piazza XX Settembre, practically in front of the Logge di Banchi, stands the dissolute 'Don Giovanni', while, after crossing the Arno, right in front of the church of San Michele in Borgo, you are lucky enough to find the evocative 'The Cloak of Conscience', in elegant gilded bronze. There is an example of this incredible work which is the largest sculpture ever sculpted from a single block of marble (250 tons). A few steps from Borgo and arriving in Largo Ciro Menotti, is the turn of the titan 'Prometheus', who angered the gods by stealing their fire. A few meters further on, the journey into the imaginary archetypes of the city ends with the prototype of the bold traveller, or 'Ulysses', who "holds the rudder of hope". A tenth work, namely 'Poseidon', has found its rightful location in Marina di Pisa, in Piazza delle Baleari. The presentation of this original "en plein air" exhibition took place in an equally different way from the usual, canonical clichés as it started right from Piazza della Stazione, where the councilor for culture of the Municipality of Pisa, Pierpaolo Magnani, organizer of the event , met the sculptor, other administrators of the Tuscan municipalities, as well as the interested public, to retrace the archetypal path in order to show Anna Chromy how her works were installed in the city. The choice of this installation was made to show our European culture because, for the artist, art is fragile while the need is to build a new and modern art, rich in symbols. Without symbols there is no people. Instead, love must be spread everywhere to defend us from evil and ugliness. The artist died in 2021.
