Donati, Enrico

Donati, Enrico
▪ 2009

      Italian-born American painter and sculptor

born Feb. 19, 1909, Milan, Italy

died April 25, 2008, New York, N.Y.
was the last surviving member of the group of European artists who gathered in New York City at the outbreak of World War II and helped usher in the Surrealist movement in the U.S. Though he initially began his career as a composer, Donati fled fascist Italy and settled in Paris, where his musical career was eclipsed by his growing interest in anthropology. After exploring the American Southwest and Canada to collect Indian artifacts, he settled in New York City, working as a commercial artist and printer. Upon his return to Paris, he became fascinated by the Surrealist movement, but when war broke out in 1939, he moved back to New York City. There André Breton, the foremost disciple of Surrealism, welcomed Donati into the fold of followers. Emblematic of Donati's work during this period was St. Elmo's Fire (1944), which featured odd organic formations that were reminiscent of underwater life. When Surrealism began to fade, Donati reinvented himself as a Constructivist, and he later dabbled in Abstract Expressionism. In the 1950s he began experimenting with surface and texture and frosted canvases with paint mixed with sand, dust, coffee grounds, and debris picked up from his vacuum cleaner, which was combined with pigment and glue. His Moonscapes series represented this phase. In the 1960s the fossil became a major inspiration, and he infused his Fossil canvases with vibrant colour. Donati's work was given a major retrospective in 1961 at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels. In addition to his art, Donati became (1965) the owner of the French perfume company Houbigant Inc., which he was credited with revitalizing; in 1978 the concern was valued at $50 million.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • DONATI, ENRICO — (1909– ), Italian surrealist and abstract painter. He was born in Milan, and studied piano and composition before becoming a commercial artist and later a painter. In 1934 he moved to Paris, and subsequently to New York. Donati s art is largely… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Donati — is a surname, and may refer to: Angelo Donati (1885 1960), Italian banker and philanthropist Baldassare Donati (1525/30–1603), Italian composer of the late Renaissance Buoso Donati ( ca. 1285), character in Dante s Divine Comedy Cianfa Donati (… …   Wikipedia

  • Donati — (ital. nach dem Vornamen Donato ‚der Geschenkte‘) ist ein alter italienischer Familienname folgender Personen: Donati (Familie), eine Florentiner Adelsfamilie Aldo Donati (* 1910), italienischer Fußballspieler Christian Donati (auch: Donat,… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Enrico — is an Italian male given name, derived from Heinrich of Germanic origin. Equivalents in other languages are Henry (English), Henri (French), Enrique (Spanish), and Henrique (Portuguese).Enrico may refer to:* Enrico IV , a play * Enrico Marini (… …   Wikipedia

  • Enrico Donati — Infobox Artist bgcolour = #6495ED name = Enrico Donati imagesize = caption = birthname = birthdate = 1909 location = deathdate = 2008 deathplace = nationality = American field = Surrealism training = movement = works = patrons = influenced by =… …   Wikipedia

  • Liste von Malern/D — Maler   A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Der Engelsfürst — Engelsfürst ist ein Roman von Jörg Kastner und ist im März 2006 im Knaur Verlag erschienen. Engelsfürst ist der dritte Roman über die Abenteuer des (ehemaligen) Schweizergardisten Alexander Rosin nach Der Engelspapst und Der Engelsfluch. Die… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • David di Donatello for Best Sets and Decorations — Contents 1 Albo d oro 1.1 1981 1.2 1982 1.3 1983 1.4 1984 …   Wikipedia

  • Der Engelsfluch — Engelsfluch ist ein Roman von Jörg Kastner und ist im Knaur Verlag im Januar 2005 erschienen. Das ganze Buch zählt 507 Seiten, umfasst den Roman, Nachbemerkungen des Autors und eine Leseprobe des Vorgängerromans „Der Engelspapst“. Einige… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Liste des participants à l'expédition des Mille — Les Mille (en italien i Mille) constitue la formation garibaldienne qui a pris part, en 1860, à la campagne militaire en Italie méridionale connue sous le nom de l expédition des Mille afin de conquérir le Royaume des Deux Siciles et de l annexer …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”