Leone Minassian Biography
Leone Minassian was born in Constantinople in 1905 and was a painter, art critic and collector of Armenian origin. Fleeing persecution by Armenians in Turkey, Minassian moved to Italy with his mother and brother when he was still a child. He began painting at the age of 11, and studied art in Naples and Venice, attending the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice and taking private lessons from various artists, including Pio Semeghini in 1925. He participated in exhibitions, including at the Venice Biennale in 1930, and experimented with various pictorial genres, from futurism to surrealism, nudes, portraits, landscapes, still lifes and rustic themes. In 1945, his art began to evolve, focusing on still life. In 1947 he began exhibiting in solo exhibitions, receiving critical attention and producing articles on art. His work reflects surrealist painting, and Minassian went to great lengths to reevaluate the work of Gino Rossi. In 1961 he participated in the Venice Biennale and in 1963 he participated in the "Premio di Pittura Mestre", in the "out of competition" section. Leone Minassian is one of the most important Italian representatives of abstract painting after the Second World War.
