A second edition of a major exhibition titled "Angiolo d'Andrea. La riscoperta di un Maestro tra Simbolismo e Novecento” (the rediscovery of a master of Symbolism and twentieth-century art) took place in Pordenone in 2014. Promoted by Fondazione Bracco in collaboration with the Municipality of Pordenone, this second edition included some important new additions with respect to the first exhibition in Milan in 2012. Curated by Luciano Caramel, the exhibition of more than 120 works paid homage to Angiolo D'Andrea, and commemorated this unjustly forgotten Friulian artist who was active in Milan in the early decades of the twentieth century.
A major exhibition of the life and works of Angiolo D'Andrea (1880 - 1942) was held in Pordenone from 10 April to 21 September 2014. Angiolo D'Andrea hailed from Rauscedo, a small agricultural village in the Municipality of San Giorgio della Richinvelda in the province of Pordenone. A shy and introverted person, he was a leading figure in the Symbolism movement of the late 19th century.
Shortly before the death of the already seriously ill artist, Elio Bracco, founder of the eponymous pharmaceutical company, decided to purchase en bloc all the paintings in the artist's Milanese studio to save the collection from being broken up and dispersed. Fulfilling a longstanding desire harboured by Elio, the Foundation, and, in particular, its Chair, Diana Bracco, put the artist back in the spotlight by organizing a major monographic exhibition first in Milan in 2012, and then in the artist’s homeland of Pordenone.
The exhibition follows a chronological path through the artist's life and works. It explores the themes that were of greatest interest to Angiolo D'Andrea, who produced evocative, emotionally rich paintings, replete with poetry and symbolism, whcih, the artist’s posthumous oblivion notwithstanding, were much appreciated by his contemporaries. Around 120 works, including paintings and drawings (about ninety owned by the Bracco family and the Foundation, the others on loan from the artist’s heirs and private collectors) were exhibited at the Modern and Contemporary Art Gallery "Armando Pizzinato" of Pordenone, in collaboration with the city council. The second exhibition included twelve new works with respect to the original exhibition in Milan, which had already displayed mostly unreleased works. The Pordenone exhibition contributed to the development of studies into the life and works of Angiolo d'Andrea, an accomplished colourist who developed a complex and digressive style that followed several artistic strands whose direction was determined in part by the changing circumstances, cultural and other, of Mitteleuropa and Italy. A powerful spirituality pervades his works, whether they represent nature and landscapes, religious and sacred themes, the calamity of war, or female eros and motherhood.
The exhibition also enjoyed the official patronage of the President of the Italian Republic, the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Activities and Tourism, and the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia.
By way of an additional tribute to the artist, a few days later, on 12 April 2014, the municipality of San Giorgio della Richinvelda, birthplace of the artist, inaugurated an exhibition, “Angiolo d'Andrea Illustrator.” Curated by Stefano Aloisi, this little gem of an exhibition was dedicated to D'Andrea's work as a graphic artist for the main Italian publishing houses of the early twentieth century and was the first time these works had been brought together in such a comprehensive and structured way.
