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Description:
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According to the CTI guide, the Pavilion of Festivals and Concerts was one of the largest buildings of the Fair. It was connected to the Pavilion of Music. These buildings hosted the Electricity Hall, the Display of the Marvels of Electricity, the exhibit of Professional Teaching, and the Swiss Exhibition. The facades of these interconnected buildings were admirable for their elegant proportions and the richness of architectural detail. Among the decorations, the Guida Tricolore mentions two fountains with a statue of Neptune created by Cellini, a group of allegorical statues symbolizing music made by Michelangelo Monti, and the remarkable sculptures created by sculptors Biscarra and Bianconi. The interior featured the grand "Salone dei Concerti" (Concert Hall) built like an Olympic theater that could hold up to 9,000 people. |
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People:
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  Bianconi, GuidoGuido Bianconi was born in Siena, where he trained at the Sienese Academy under Sarrocchi. After winning the Lazzarotti Prize, he moved to Turin where he probably established contact with Bistolfi and his studio, since 1903. He soon became Bistolfi's modeller and worked in some of the major monuments of that time (i.e. the monuments of Carducci in Bologna and of Garibaldi in Savona). Thanks to the reference of Bistolfi, in 1908 he obtained an important civic work from the city of Vercelli, for which he realized the Monument of Carlo Alberti. In occasion of Turin 1911 he was asked to work on the Pavilion of Festivals and Concerts; there, with the collaboration of the sculptor Cesare Biscarra, he designed the huge quadrigas gracing the main facade.
Biscarra, CesareCesare Biscarra studied art and sculpture at the "Accademia Albertina". He specialized in bronze sculptures, and in 1891 created a bronze bust of King Victor Emmanuel II. He participated in national and international Art Exhibitions (Turin 1894, 1896; Venice 1905, 1907, 1910). In particular, on the occasion of Turin 1911 he was asked to work on the Pavilion of Festivals and Concerts; there, with the collaboration of the sculptor Guido Bianconi, he designed the massive quadrigas gracing the main facade.
See also: A. M. Comanducci. Dizionario illustrato dei pittori, disegnatori e incisori italiani moderni e contemporanei. Third edition. Eds: Luigi Pelandi and Luigi Servolini. Milan: Leonilde Patuzzi, 1962. 203-204.
Buzzi Reschini, GiacomoGiacomo Buzzi Reschini was a Turinese sculptor. As student of Leonardo Bistolfi, he attended the Royal Albertine Academy of Turin, while he worked with the Milanese artists Butti and Pogliaghi. In Turin, he became well-known after participating in the two Exposition of Fine Arts in 1909 (with the famous portrait of a young girl titles "Stella Alpina") and 1911 (in this occasion he won the gold medal for sculpture). The Turin World's Fair Committee asked him to work on the decorative statues of the Pavilion of Music (specifically, on the entire frieze of the dome) and the Pavilion of Argentina (the majestic prancing horses and the two genies in the "pronao"). Others valuable works of him can be found in the Palazzo del Governatorato della Città del Vaticano and in the Collegio Boemo in Rome.
Impresa Quadri e ColomboThe Impresa Quadri e Colombo built a number of Pavilions at the Exposition including: Padiglione del Ministero delle Poste e Telegrafi; Palazzo delle Feste e della Musica; Floorplan for the Salone delle Feste e Mostra degli Strumenti Musicali; Salone delle Feste; Ingressi Principale all'Esposizione; Palazzo della Stampa (Giornale); Interno Palazzo del Giornale; Palazzo dell'Inghilterra; Palazzo della Francia; Palazzo della Germania; Padiglione d'Onore all'Interno del Palazzo della Francia; Castello della Gran Cascata e Altare della Patria; Interno Galleria dell'Elettricita'; Padiglione Istituto Geografico de Agostini; Padiglione Martini e Rossi. See page scans: Costruzioni eseguite dall'Impresa Quadri Beniamino (Torino) e Colombo Giovanni (Monza) all'Esposizione Internazionale di Torino 1911
Monti, MichelangeloMichelangelo Monti studied at the Regia Accademia di Brera, Milan. After moving to Turin in 1896, he continued his training at the Accademia Albertina (1896-99). He worked as a sculptor and painter, specializing in portraits and full-figure paintings typically commissioned by Turin’s high middle class families. In 1908 he took part in the competition for the statues for Ponte Umberto I. He created a group of statues for the Pavilion of Festivals and Concerts allegorizing Music for the 1911 Exposition of Turin. His most famous sculpture is the “Toro rampante” for the Toro Insurance Company.
See also:
Alfonso Panzetta, Michelangelo Monti (1875-1946). Torino: Umberto Allemandi & C. 1995.
Smeriglio, Domenico ErnestoOn the occasion of Turin 1911, Domenico Ernesto Smeriglio was in charge of the external decorations of the Pavilion of Festivals and Concerts, as well as of other buildings. Born around 1865-1870, he mainly worked on still life paintings; he joined the group exhibits at Promotrice dell'Arte in Turin in 1920 (with decorative drawings) and in 1935 (with some still life paintings). (E.Bellini, "Pittori piemontesi dell'Ottocento e del primo Novecento")
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