Nicola Arduino (1887-1974) - Portofino, La Calata 1921

Nicola Arduino - Grugliasco (To) 1887 - Turin 1974. Portofino, La Calata 1921 - dimensions with frame cm 60x50




Around 1880, the Bertier family from Chambery in Haute Savoie moved to Grugliasco near Turin with the young Celestina, where she meets and marries just eighteen-year-old Carlo Arduino.
On August 6, 1887, the second of their six children, Nicola Arduino, was born.
Young Nicola helps his paternal grandfather and father with decorating work. The family decorating business, which had no work during the winter months, certainly didn't provide much comfort for the large family, but in small Grugliasco they called themselves the 'royal family,' as Mama Celestina always managed to dress them well and keep a small, charming house in the old town center near the church in good decorum. A very close-knit family, and despite financial difficulties, they were also carefree, with everyone loving music very much (sometimes they would go to the Teatro Regio in Turin from early morning to secure a seat in the loggione!). Mama, an important figure in his youth, shared a special bond with them, a sweet and strong memory that would stay with him for life.
From that small warm nest, his journey as a man and artist will begin, when, in 1903, the irresistible call of painting will lead him at sixteen to face the not-so-easy decision of enrolling at the Accademia Albertina delle Belle Arti di Torino.
It will be nine years (by a fortunate coincidence always under the guidance of Maestro Giacomo Grosso) during which, from the very beginning, he received medals, scholarships, and prize trips to major art cities, confirming to him and his family that this was the right decision. Winning the gold medal at the end of the sixth year (as the best student) allowed him to use a personal studio for another three years of further study at the same Academy, right next to the Maestro's, with whom he thus had the opportunity to deepen a sincere and affectionate friendship.
In 1911, he exhibited for the first time at the Promotrice delle Belle Arti in Turin with the painting 'The Cicada': the critique was flattering, and the purchase of the work by a Genoese collector allowed him to buy a first-class ticket to Buenos Aires on the ship Regina Elena, thus following Maestro Grosso, who had invited him to go with him to Argentina.
During the crossing, he discovered the luxury of first class, which he was certainly not used to... but also the seasickness, which, however, did not prevent him from making some portraits, capturing fleeting impressions of a spectacular sunset at the equator, and sometimes even performing with his violin, an instrument he loved to play and always carried with him along with his brushes.
In the wealthy Buenos Aires of the early twentieth century, established European artists arrived, naturally of mature age. Thus, this still very young and already very talented painter immediately aroused interest and admiration in the high bourgeoisie environment, where he had been introduced by his Master. It is easy to follow his progress during these years through the long letters he wrote daily to his family, with whom he felt the need to share all his emotions.

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