Manlio Sarra Biography
Manlio Sarra (Monte San Giovanni Campano, 24 August 1909 – Rome, 1 October 1986) was an Italian painter. From a very young age Manlio Sarra showed his interest in drawing and painting: for this very reason there are numerous landscapes and portraits painted as a teenager which, in addition to testifying to his interest in modern art and in particular for the post- impressionism. Towards the end of the twenties he moved to Rome, graduated from the Art School, won a scholarship for courses at the Academy of Fine Arts where he graduated under the guidance of Maestro Umberto Coromaldi, a leading exponent of the "XXV della Roman countryside". During the period of studies and research, he fraternized with artists, painters and writers who were the great masters of the twentieth century, such as among others Orfeo Tamburi, Gentilini, Mario Mafai, Ardengo Soffici, Mario Sironi, Afro, Felice Casorati, Ignazio Silone , Giorgio De Chirico and Giuseppe Ungaretti. In the early thirties, to perfect his drawing and painting technique, he frequented the studio of the Corsican artist of Italian origin, winner of the "Prix de Rome" award, the painter Henry Filippi. Under his guidance Manlio Sarra refined himself and, together with other young French artists who frequented his master's studio in that same period, who later became well known internationally, he will treasure this experience: that "French", impressionist touch, he will later make the difference from many of his colleagues. In 1936 Filippi, returning to Bastia in Corsica, left him his studio and home in Rome in via del Vantaggio 7/10, near Piazza del Popolo, a stone's throw from via Margutta, the nerve center of all artistic and cultural initiatives : it will be his residence until his death in 1986. Already towards the end of the thirties, he was a witness and participant in the artistic events that evolved in the capital's environment; as can be seen from the first solo show held in 1945 at the “Galleria San Marco” in Rome. In 1947 Sarra joined the Art-Club Movement of the Polish painter Jarema. This is how the "Portraits" of the Ciociaria environment were born. He participated in international exhibitions including the XXVIII Venice Biennale and in all the Roman Quadrennials held from 1947 to 1965. Several solo exhibitions were organized after 1945, not only in the major Italian cities, Rome, Turin, Milan, but also in United States, Switzerland, France, England and Japan. There are numerous portraits of famous figures from politics, culture, cinema and theater created between the 1950s and 1960s. It is worth noting, in that period, a work for the film company "Paramount": a portrait of the American actress Kim Novak, a work created for a scene from the film "The Woman Who Lived Twice". In the early sixties he obtained teaching at the Art School and the Chair of "Painting" at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome. Despite his teaching commitments, Sarra has made numerous stays in Europe, the Middle East, and America where he had the opportunity to compare his proposals with those emerging at an international level and obtain important recognition. In 1966 he was offered to lead courses in the art schools of the State of Ontario by the Department of Education of Canada. However, he never interrupted his artistic relationships with Ciociara, the land of origin and inspiration for his pictorial compositions. His works were often hosted at the "La Saletta" gallery in Frosinone. His works are present in the most important collections, galleries and museums, including the "Gallery of Modern Art of Rome", and the "National Gallery of the Municipality of Rome". In 1979, Manlio Sarra together with his son Francesco founded the "Porto di Ripetta" Gallery in Rome, in via di Ripetta (in front of the Academy of Fine Arts of Rome), which operated successfully until 1987, staging personal exhibitions -exhibitions and collective exhibitions of an international nature. Numerous art catalogs have been reviewed on Manlio Sarra, both for solo exhibitions and for the various exhibitions held in Italy and abroad, furthermore two anthological monographs have been published: The first in 1966 "Manlio Sarra" of only five hundred copies with the presentation of Vittorio Del Gaizo, the second monograph "Manlio Sarra - Ritorno alle origine" in 1985. In the same year he was awarded the "Maggio Romano" lifetime achievement award in Campidoglio (Rome), exactly one year before his death on October 1st 1986. On Manlio Sarra in 2007 a conference was held at the Municipal Library of Frosinone with a report by Prof. Marcello Carlino and Francesco Sarra: "The great art of Manlio Sarra: illustrious Ciociaria painter" and in 2008 the same conference at the Council Hall of the municipality of Monte San Giovanni Campano (Fr), his town of origin, which for the occasion also named a plaque and a street in the historic center in his memory.
