Giovanni Bonfatti (1904-?) - Autoritratto

Giovanni Bonfatti (Milan 1904 - ????)

Self-portrait

Oil on canvas
Measurements 51.5x61
Signed G. Bonfatti at the lower right
The frame has the sole purpose of showing an overall view
Sold without frame

Brief biography of the artist:
Giovanni Bonfatti was born in Milan on June 25, 1904 and here carried out his main artistic activity
He studied art at a young age: he attended the Brera Academy in Milan where he followed the courses in the School of Drawing, after starting his artistic training at the castle for the complete course of fine arts under the guidance of maestro Alfredo Melani.
Career

From a very young age he received recognitions: at fifteen he was noticed in an important competition in Genoa for the poster destined for the ship Giulio Cesare, where he stood out alongside Marcello Dudovich.
In the 1920s he actively participated in official exhibitions and national competitions, consolidating his artistic path.
In 1928 he won the competition organized by the Milan newspaper “Il Torchio” and subsequently others organized by the Unione Cooperativa di Milano for advertising posters.
The first collective exhibition in which he took part was in 1927, while his first solo show dates back to 1932, followed by numerous exhibitions in Genoa, Bologna, Milan and Turin in the following years.
Artistic activity

Bonfatti worked mainly as a painter and creator of posters and figurative works, operating in the midst of the early 20th-century Italian artistic ferment.

One of his notable works is a 1929 poster for Gressoney (Valle d’Aosta), which reflects the theme of winter tourism with local atmospheres and costumes; this piece is kept at the Museo Nazionale della Montagna–CAI in Turin.

In 1950 he took part in the VI Italian Exhibition of Sacred Art in Milan with the work Sulla via di Emaus.

He is listed in the Comanducci

Not all details of his later life are well documented in the available sources (for example the year of his death is not known precisely), but his artistic activity appears to be active at least until the mid-20th century.