Borgo Museo | Sculture 1976 – 2004
Biography
Giuseppe Gavazzi was born in Marcoussis, France, in 1936 to Tuscan emigrant parents. In 1940 he returned to Pistoia, and ten years later he entered the “Policarpo Petrocchi” Art Institute where he studied until 1954. As a good Tuscan he founded his art in the practice of drawing, demonstrating a strong ability to give expressiveness and naturalness to the figurations. His artistic activity di lui soon obtained favourable feedback, both in Italy and abroad, where he participated in important art exhibitions such as those in Basel, Zurich and the exhibition at the Grand Palais in Paris. Over time he specialised in mural painting and developing this technique with passion, he began his activity as a restorer in Leonetto Tintori’s workshop, undertaking a demanding career that led him to be considered one of the most respected specialists in the sector. Among his most important interventions by him we remember those on the cycle of Good and Bad Government by Ambrogio Lorenzetti, on the Majesty by Simone Martini and on Giotto’s frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua. In parallel with the complex restoration work, he never stops producing his works of art.
Philosophy
At the same time as his professional growth as a restorer, Gavazzi continued to practice the art of painting and more: from the mid-1950s he also tried his hand at sculpture, in particular using stone to perform bas-relief figurations and statues in the round. He then moved on to carving wooden figures, always presented with accurate patinations, and in the mid-1960s he also came to shape clay, to obtain works in terracotta, the first of which ended only with monochromatic colours while later he takes greater care of the finish with naturalistic colours, finding in this technique the most congenial means of expression. He also obtains results of equal intensity with the modelling of strong stucco and with wood carving, to which he returns frequently since the late 1980s. Finally, he also experiments with the technique of marble and bronze, as well as cultivating engraving. His rich and prolific career demonstrates how his entire and intense life was completely dedicated to art.
Artwork in Castagno
Maternità e il gattino (Maternity and the kitten) is a sculptural composition that occupies two false windows from which some figures overlook the small square in the heart of the village, with the 1826 fountain. The building was in the past and for a long time a well-known restaurant, now and now for several years it is closed. In the upper fake window we see a child playing with his black kitten, in the one below the mother who holds her daughter tightly with one arm while both lean over the windowsill. Observing their features you immediately recognise the artist’s style who, both in the sculptural and pictorial fields, usually portrays the subjects with simple and soft lines. The faces seem almost spherical. The eyes, noses and mouths are well designed elements but also defined by essential features. Despite these evidences, at times, it happens that some new passer-by exchanges, at first sight, the sculptures for real people by hinting at them a greeting. The charm of Gavazzi’s many characters is due precisely to the fact that they are inserted in ordinary situations of everyday life but at the same time suspended in an arcane amazement that continues to arouse in the viewer. Curiosity: yes, even the largest black cat (or the black cat?) Located above the door of the house next to the former restaurant bears the signature of Gavazzi. She looks like a cat to us, the kitten’s mother.
There are two other works by Gavazzi in Castagno: the Febbraio fresco in the village and La Meridiana painted on the facade of Casa Paloscia. Find out more by reading the related sheets.