Cornelio Ghiretti Biography
Cornelio Ghiretti, born in Villa di Basilicagoiano in 1891, was a sculptor of humble peasant origins. He began as a self-taught man and achieved notable mastery in the art of embossing. After a short period spent at the Beccarelli watch factory in Vignale, he joined the Baldi foundry, where Renato Brozzi, a great friend and precious guide, was already working. From him he learned the first rudiments of drawing, demonstrating his skills which were recognized by the owner of the workshop. Thanks to his financial support, Ghiretti was able to attend the school of Fine Arts in Parma. He undertook various manual activities, such as carpenter, blacksmith, mechanic and bricklayer, before managing to briefly attend the Institute of Fine Arts at the age of fourteen. In 1914, he won the three-year National Pension of the Medal School in Rome. However, due to the war intervention of the 1915-1918 conflict, he was unable to fully exploit this opportunity and spent only the first year as a scholarship holder in Rome. After the First World War, he opened a studio in Parma. In 1921, he became a teacher at the Pietro Selvatico Art School in Padua and subsequently, in 1928, through a national competition, he was appointed Master of the Embossed Chair at the Art Institute of Venice. Ghiretti died in Milan in 1934, aged only forty-three.
