Vivaldo Martini

City Facades by Vivaldo Martini - Oil on canvas 70x50 cm

1963

His first name sounds like a concerto. Vivacious, its name is reminiscent of an aperitif or a cyclist. The addition of the two evokes the Italianate. Indomitable and unavoidable. Moreover, I was born on November 11, 1908 in Bellinzona, one day became a portrait painter of the president of the confederation, residing most of his life in Geneva, Vivaldo Martini refuses to leave his Italian nationality. He has known ruptures in his life. But Italy has always remained the son of his soul. Its unwavering root. What is striking about this artist, both extraordinary and famous, is a way of dichotomy that has permeated a large slice of his existence. On the one hand, very strong in the art of capturing faces, and that from an early age, he became a beloved, sought-after portrait painter. On the other hand, he has not stopped following a more personal artistic path, two years after his death in May 1990, finally comes to light, and testifies that beyond the chronicler of his time, Vivaldo Martini was above all a great painter.