Dante Montanari
Porto Sant'Elpidio, Fermo, 1896 - Milano, 1990
Essential, poetic, revealing a sacred reality described in contemporary language, Montanari's artistic production proves to be a source of sincerity, capable of guiding the viewer of his works toward a revelation of a profound sense of the eternal, without any kind of chromatic or figure constriction.
He was born in Porto Sant'Elpidio, in the province of Fermo, on July 19, 1896. After graduating from the Technical Institute in Osimo, where his father was principal, he moved to Milan, at first thinking of attending the Academy of Fine Arts. Abandoning that plan, he moved to Ascoli Piceno, where he learned to paint at the studio of a maternal uncle, Salvatore Ferrante, an art education teacher.
He made his debut at the Permanente in Milan in 1922 and in 1923 participated in the Quadriennale in Turin with the works "Mammina" and "Ritorno." In 1925 he won first prize in the Franciscan National Competition, organized by the Angelicum in Milan.
He also took part in all the Venice Biennials from 1926 to 1956 (where in 1934 he was the winner) and, by invitation, exhibited at the Quadriennali Roma from 1931 to 1956.
In 1951 he was present at the exhibition "La bella Italiana nella pittura contemporanea."
He also participated in exhibitions abroad: Budapest, Leipzig, Berlin, Stuttgart, Munich, Cologne, Athens, Birmingham.
Among the numerous awards he has achieved are: Mostra d'Arte Sacra in Padua (1934-1936); Mostra Sindacale della Permanente, Milan (1942); Concorso Nazionale di Figura, Salsomaggiore (1948); I Premio at the Biennale delle Regioni in Ancona (1964); gold medal at the contemporary painting events in Monferrato (1965); Ginestra d'oro in Conero (1969); gold medal at the commemorative exhibition "Il Morazzone" in Morazzone (1970).
In 1960, on the initiative of the Angelicum in Milan, one of his paintings, inspired by the theme of the prodigal son, was part of a traveling exhibition in Brazil.
He collaborated as an art critic with Corriere della Sera and the Novara-based magazine Glauco, also participating in numerous exhibitions in private galleries, such as Il Milione, Gianferrari, Cairola and Gussoni in Milan, Permanente in Turin, Torre in Bergamo and Arte Galleria in Ancona,
There are many themes that Montanari embraces in his works: from landscape, a visceral and prominent theme, to motherhood via spirituality. Of particular note are two works with a religious character: the first, "St. Francis between the Wolf and the Lamb," winner of the competition for the seventh Franciscan Centenary of the Angelicum in Milan, and the second, "Way of the Cross," created in the late 1950s, at an already mature age, composed of 14 canvases representing the last stages of Christ's life, very evocative, exhibited only 20 years later, in the 1980s at the San Bartolomeo Cultural Center in Bergamo and on very few other occasions since the beginning of the new millennium, one of them in Porto Sant'Elpidio itself.
Also famous are his views of upper Bergamo and those of the Marche, his demureness in portraying female nudes and finally his attention to the theme of solitude. Essential, poetic, revealing of a sacred reality described in contemporary language, Montanari's artistic production proves to be a source of sincerity, capable of guiding the viewer of his works toward a revelation of a profound sense of the eternal, without any kind of chromatic or figure constriction.
Highly appreciated by critics and the art scene of Milan in the second Half of the twentieth century, Montanari shunned any kind of worldliness to devote himself completely to his passion.
He made his debut at the Permanente in Milan in 1922 and in 1923 participated in the Quadriennale in Turin with the works "Mammina" and "Ritorno." In 1925 he won first prize in the Franciscan National Competition, organized by the Angelicum in Milan.
He also took part in all the Venice Biennials from 1926 to 1956 (where in 1934 he was the winner) and, by invitation, exhibited at the Quadriennali Roma from 1931 to 1956.
In 1951 he was present at the exhibition "La bella Italiana nella pittura contemporanea."
He also participated in exhibitions abroad: Budapest, Leipzig, Berlin, Stuttgart, Munich, Cologne, Athens, Birmingham.
Among the numerous awards he has achieved are: Mostra d'Arte Sacra in Padua (1934-1936); Mostra Sindacale della Permanente, Milan (1942); Concorso Nazionale di Figura, Salsomaggiore (1948); I Premio at the Biennale delle Regioni in Ancona (1964); gold medal at the contemporary painting events in Monferrato (1965); Ginestra d'oro in Conero (1969); gold medal at the commemorative exhibition "Il Morazzone" in Morazzone (1970).
In 1960, on the initiative of the Angelicum in Milan, one of his paintings, inspired by the theme of the prodigal son, was part of a traveling exhibition in Brazil.
He collaborated as an art critic with Corriere della Sera and the Novara-based magazine Glauco, also participating in numerous exhibitions in private galleries, such as Il Milione, Gianferrari, Cairola and Gussoni in Milan, Permanente in Turin, Torre in Bergamo and Arte Galleria in Ancona,
There are many themes that Montanari embraces in his works: from landscape, a visceral and prominent theme, to motherhood via spirituality. Of particular note are two works with a religious character: the first, "St. Francis between the Wolf and the Lamb," winner of the competition for the seventh Franciscan Centenary of the Angelicum in Milan, and the second, "Way of the Cross," created in the late 1950s, at an already mature age, composed of 14 canvases representing the last stages of Christ's life, very evocative, exhibited only 20 years later, in the 1980s at the San Bartolomeo Cultural Center in Bergamo and on very few other occasions since the beginning of the new millennium, one of them in Porto Sant'Elpidio itself.
Also famous are his views of upper Bergamo and those of the Marche, his demureness in portraying female nudes and finally his attention to the theme of solitude. Essential, poetic, revealing of a sacred reality described in contemporary language, Montanari's artistic production proves to be a source of sincerity, capable of guiding the viewer of his works toward a revelation of a profound sense of the eternal, without any kind of chromatic or figure constriction.
Highly appreciated by critics and the art scene of Milan in the second Half of the twentieth century, Montanari shunned any kind of worldliness to devote himself completely to his passion.
