Gianni Secomandi Biography
Professional painter - (Monte Marenzo 14 April 1894 - Salsomaggiore 29 January 1990). He attended the Art School in Venice under the guidance of Cesare Tallone; he learned the fresco technique from the famous fresco artists Taragni, Fascetti, Gamba, Pezzotta and Zanetti. He met the painter Monza Bianchi for whom he carried out some work; he then met the architects Portalupi and Beltrame and became an active collaborator of the latter for the cover of the "Domenica del Corriere". He met and frequented, appreciated, some great artists of the time, such as Giorgio Morandi, Carlo Carrà, Giorgio de Chirico, Pablo Picasso, Francesco Messina and Giacomo Manzù. He moved to America where he frescoed numerous churches at the invitation of the ecclesiastical authorities. Upon returning to Italy, Cardinal Schuster invited him to fresco and restore the Cathedral, Sant'Ambrogio and the Madonna delle Grazie in Milan. He met and executed works for the noble Manzi, the princes Belgioioso, Notarboldo of Sciacca and Borromeo, the countess Santambrogio, the duke Visconti di Modrone, and the count Davanzo of Turin; he taught drawing and painting at the Umanitaria and at the Università Popolare of Milan. He was a set designer for the Paris Opera with Professor Daelli. During the last world war, some of his canvases were destroyed and he was one of the few painters who were compensated by the government. Only in the Seventies, encouraged by friends and collectors, did he decide to present his first solo show at the "Liceum" in Milan and since then he has exhibited by invitation in: Rome, Sesto San Giovanni, Salsomaggiore, Brescia, Cosenza, Messina and in many other cities. A large anthology of his was presented in Rome in 1977 at Palazzo Barberini. During his long career he obtained prestigious prizes and recognitions, including the "Golden Sagittario" in Rome, "Il Centauro d'Oro" in Salsomaggiore Terme and many others. Authoritative critics and journalists have written about him; in 1976 one of his monographs was presented, another was published in 1980, with an introduction by Carlo Facchinetti and with essays by authoritative figures from the world of politics, journalism and art. His works appear in numerous public and private collections in Italy and abroad and are permanently exhibited at the Gelmi Art Gallery in Sesto San Giovanni.
