Giuseppe Migneco (1908-1997) - Vecchio con bastone

Giuseppe Migneco was born in Messina on February 9, 1908, but it was in Ponteschiavo (a nearby village where his father was a stationmaster and his mother was an elementary school teacher) that he spent his early childhood. This happy period, spent in complete freedom, between the sea and the countryside, will remain in his memory like the memory of a lost paradise and will recur as a leitmotif in many of his paintings. He returned to Messina to attend the Maurolico high school, where he earned a classical high school diploma. In 1931, he moved to Milan to study medicine at the university, a course he soon abandoned in an attempt to realize the artistic aspirations that had driven him to leave Sicily. His encounter with De Grada, Birolli, and Sassu marked the beginning of his discovery of the world of painting to which he had always felt irresistibly drawn. With the encouragement of these friends, frequenting their studios, and the sense of freedom their painting conveyed, he began to paint with greater spirit and confidence. In 1937, he was among the founders of the "Corrente" movement with Birolli, Cassinari, Sassu, and De Grada, later joined by Guttuso, Vedova, Manzu, Morlotti, and others. In 1940, he opened his first solo exhibition in Genoa. Other exhibitions followed, until the outbreak of World War II, when he was called up for military service. Upon his return, he held a solo exhibition at the Galleria S. Radegonda in Milan. From 1948, he was invited to all the Rome Quadrennials and the Venice Biennials. He was invited to the latter with a group of works in 1952 and for a solo exhibition in 1958. He held numerous solo exhibitions in Italy and abroad. Milan, Verona, Rome, Turin, London, Paris, New York, Hamburg, and others have repeatedly hosted his works, which have garnered acclaim, admirers, and collectors worldwide. Major Italian and international critics have written about him and his works. Migneco died in 1997.