ABOUT GIOVANNI SEGANTINI

Giovanni Battista Emanuele Maria Segantini born at Arco on 15 January

Italy achieves unification and the Kingdom of Italy constituted

Segantini’s mother, Margherita, dies: Segantini is put on the care of his step-sister, Irene, in Milan

Accused of vagrancy, Segantini is interned in the Riformatorio Marchiondi in Milan

In Milan two brothers Vittore and Alberto Grubicy: establish a businessselling works of art

Roma is proclaimed capital of the Kingdom of Italy

Segantini moves into the home of his brother, Napoleone, owner of a photographic studio at Borgo Valsugana: here he learns the art of photography

In Paris, the first impressionist exhibition is held in the studio of the photographer Nadar

Segantini returns to Milan and begins to attend courses at the Accademia di Brera, becoming one of the most gifted artists of the Milanese school

He works as an apprentice in the Milanese studio of the painter Luigi Tettamanzi

The Third Republic is established in France (1875)

A Brera Segantini diventa amico degli artisti Gaetano Previati, Emilio Longoni, Angelo Morbelli, Leonardo Bistolfi, Cesare Tallone, Ernesto Bazzaro, Attilio Pusterla, Emilio Quadrelli e Giovanni Sottocornola

Also at the Brera Segantini frequents Eugenio Quarti e Carlo Bugatti, both cabinetmakers

At the Brera national exhibition, his Il coro di Sant’Antonio (The Choir of St. Anthony Church in Milan) wins a prize: it is the first official recognition Segantini receives

Segantini meets the art dealer Vittore Grubicy, who has him sign an exclusive contract with his gallery: here he comes into contact with important personalities of the European artistic and cultural scene

In the “Corriere della Sera” critic Luigi Chirtani publishes one of the first positive opinions concerning the early art of Segantini
The correspondence with Vittore Grubicy begins

Segantini moves to Pusiano in Brianza: here he meets Bice Bugatti, with whom he will spend the rest of his life

His first child, Gottardo, is born in Pusiano

He paint the first version of Ave Maria a trasbordo (Ave Maria crossing the Lake)

Giuseppe Garibaldi dies at Caprera
Triple Alliance between Germany, Austria and the Kingdom of Italy: with this agreement Italy renounces all claims to Trento and Trieste. The irredentists revolt

The painter Emilo Longoni joins the Galleria Grubicy: for two years he lives in Brianza, in a partnership of life and work with Segantini

His second child, Alberto, is born in Pusiano

The Galleria Nazionale di Arte Moderna (National Gallery of Modern Art) is founded in Rome, with the task of documenting the contemporary art of a united Italy

International exhibition in Amsterdam (gold medal for Ave Maria a trasbordo / Ave Maria crossing the Lake)

On 20 January, a power of attorney recognises Victor Grubicy’s exclusive right tp Segantini’s artistic production

Georges Seurat starts painting Un dimanche après-midi à l’Île de la Grande Jatte (A Sunday afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte): this marks the beginning of Pointillism

Emilio Longoni breaks off relations with Segantini and Vittore Grubicy who had signed some of his works with the name of Segantini

Segantini moves to Caglio in Brianza, where he paints Alla stanga (At the Pen), which he completes in February of the following year

A third son, Mario, is born in Caglio

Universal exhibition in Antwerp, in which Segantini also partecipates

First solo exhibition at the Palazzo della Società per le Belle Arti ed Esposizione Permanente of Milan

Segantini settles in Milan, where his last child, Bianca, is born

In August he moves to Savognino in Switzerland: here he repaints Ave Maria a trasbordo (Ave Maria crossing the Lake) in a divisionist manner

In Paris, the eight and last impressionist exhibition is held

Universal exhibition in Amsterdam and gold medal for Alla stanga (At the Pen)

On 26 May Segantini signs a power of attorney in favour of Alberto Grubicy that lightens the contractual links with his brother Vittore

Segantini begins to establish important links by correspondence with painters, critics and artistic promoters of the time

Barbara Huffer is hired as a maid in the Segantini household: she will often pose as a model for the artist

Segantini renounces his mother’s bequest in favour of the poor of the town of Arco

Segantini meets the scapigliato (bohemian) writer Eugenio Bermani, for whom he produces the cover of his novel Frate Gaudenzio

Segantini consolidates his international reputation by participating with the Galleria Grubicy at the Italian Exhibition within the context of the universal exhibition in London

He starts writing articles about art, which are published in specialised magazines

He paints Vacche aggiogate (Cows Yoked), Ragazza che fa la calza (Girl Knitting), Allo sciogliersi delle nevi (During the Thaw), Ritorno all’ovile (Return to the Sheep Shed), I miei modelli (My Models)

In Paris, the Nabis group is formed, whose manifesto is Le talisman by Paul Sérusier. In Arles, Vincent van Gogh paints Les Tournesols (The Sunflowers), La chambre de Van Gogh à Arles (Bedroom in Arles), La Terrasse du Café, la Nuit (Cafe Terrace at Night): these mark the expressionist advent of his painting

In London, the first exhibition of the Arts and Crafts movement opens

The Galleria Nazionale di Arte Moderna of Rome buys Alla Stanga (At the Pen): this is the first of Segantini’s works to enter a museum

Paris Universal Exhibition (Gold Medal for Vacche aggiogate / Cows Yoked)

Segantini rebels against the strict artistic monopoly of Vittore Grubicy: his brother Alberto becomes his new patron

The exchange of letters with Vittore Grubicy becomes rarer and that with his brother Alberto intensifies

Segantini paints Ritorno dal bosco (Return from the Woods), Aratura (Ploughing) and Alpe di maggio (Goat with her Kid)

The frequent correspondence with the Trentino scholar Vittorio Zippel begins. Zippel becomes his main point of reference for contacts with his native land

Personal exhibition at the Dowdeswell Gallery in London

Personal exhibition at the VII Salon des XX in Brussels

On 1 February the first theoretical text by Segantini, Così penso e sento la pittura, is published in in the magazine “Cronaca d’arte”

He paints Mezzogiorno sulle Alpi (Midday in the Alps)

He paints his large picture the great painting Il castigo delle lussuriose (The Punishment of Lust) which marks the start of the symbolist phase of his painting

In Milan the first edition of the Triennale of Brera is held, considered the official debut of Divisionism in Italy: Segantini participates with Le due madri (The Two Mothers)

Segantini opens contacts with gallery owners Arnold of Dresden and Schultze of Berlin, without the mediation of Alberto Grubicy

A close correspondence with the writer Neera begins

Personal show at the Galleria Grubicy in Milan

In the “Gazzetta Ferrarese” Gaetano Previati documents the symbolist direction adopted by the artist

Segantini paints Meriggio sulle Alpi (Midday in the Alps) and Vacca bruna all’abbeveratoio (Brown Cow at the Trough)

The Secession movement rejecting traditional art, the first of its kind, develops in Munich, followed in the following years by the Vienna and Berlin Secessions

Correspondence with Vittorio Zippel for obtaining a passport from the Municipality of Arco to travel abroad. In “Cronaca d’arte” Gaetano Previati writes and article of unconditional praise for the art of Segantini

Segantini writes the symbolic tale Sogno di un lavoratore

He paints Pascoli alpini (Alpine Pastures) and L’ora mesta (The melancholy hour)

First official exhibition of the Secession in Munich (gold medal for Mezzogiorno sulle Alpi / Midday in the Alps)

Edvard Munch paints L’urlo (The scream): the picture anticipates the great themes of early-twentieth-century expressionist painting

The “La battaglia per l’arte” magazine is founded in Milan: in it, Segantini publishes an article titled Sentimento e natura

The first issue of “The Studio” monthly magazine is published in London

A dense correspondence begins with Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo, Domenico Tumiati, Guido Martinelli, Luigi Illica, Eugenio Bermani, Angelo Orvieto, Vittorio Pica, Gerolamo Rovetta and some foreign artists: they are in various ways letters of acknowledgement and thanks

The Segantini family moves to Maloja in the Upper Engadine: for the artist, these are years of profound isolation, but of great commercial success

He paints L’Angelo della vita (The Angel of Life) and Le cattive Madri (The Bad Mothers)

The Affaire Dreyfus hits the front pages in France

Direct relations with art dealers Paul and Bruno Cassirer and Felix Koenigs in Berlin are established

Segantini meets the painter Giovanni Giacometti, with whom he will share the adventure of the Engadine Panorama

Personal exhibition at the Castello Sforzesco in Milan

Segantini paints Ritorno al paese natio

He donates the drawing of All’arcolaio (At the Spinninh Wheel) to the community of Tione, struck by a devastating fire

First Venice Biennale (government prize for Ritorno al paese natio / Homecoming)

“Emporium, Rivista mensile illustrata d’arte”, a monthly art magazine, is founded in Bergamo

Segantini meets the painter Cuno Amiet, a pioneer of modern art in Switzerland

Correspondence with Vittorio Zippel for the granting of Italian citizenship

Segantini begins designing the Engadine Pavilion for the 1900 Universal Exhibition

He paints Amore alla fonte della vita (Love at the Source of Life)

Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo starts to paint Il Quarto Stato (The Fourth Estate), where the divisionist technique is combined with the theme of social engagement

The artist Paolo Troubetzkoy dedicates a bronze bust to Segantini

Personal show at the fourth Secession exhibition in Munich

After seeing L’ora mesta (The melancholy hour) in Munich, the director of the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin seeks to buy it for his museum.In the same year Aratura (Ploughing) is acquired by the Neue Pinakothek of Munich

Personal exhibitions in Berlin and Zurich

Two biographical essays on Segantini appear in “Emporium” by Neera and “Il Focolare” by Virgilio Colombo

Segantini makes the wooden model of the Engadine Pavillon

He paints Primavera sulle Alpi (Springtime in the Alps) and L’evocazione creatrice della musica (The creative Evocation of Music)

Second Venice Biennale: Segantini partecipates with Pascoli di Primavera (Spring Pastures) and Il ritratto di Carlo Rotta (Portrait of Carlo Rotta)

“Ver Sacrum” is published for the first time; this is the official organ of the Vienna Secession, published in the same year as the scission of a group of artists from the Wiener Künstlerhaus

The weekly “Dekorative Kunst” is founded in Munich

Segantini establishes independent relations with Hermes, an art dealer from Frankfurt
At the end of August the volume by William Ritter financed by the Austrian state is published in Vienna

Personal exhibition in Frankfurt

The Engadine Pavilion project is abandoned due to high costs: Segantini resizes it in Trittico della Natura (Triptych of Nature)

He produces three drawings for the illustrated Bible of Amsterdam

The Berlin Academy refuses to exhibit a landscape by Walter Leistikow. 65 artists take up his cause and establish an independent gallery: this marks the beginning of the Berlin Secession

In Vienna, the first official exhibition of the Secession is held: Segantini participates as guest of honour alongside Khnopff, Puvis de Chavannes,  Meunier, Rodin and von Stuck

For about two months the painter Carlo Fornara stays at Maloja workink as an assistant to Segantini

Personal exhibition in Frankfurt

He writes and article titled Che cos’è l’arte for “Ver Sacrum”

In London he is nominated adviser to the “International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Carvers”, a secessionist group rejecting the traditionalism of the Royal Academy.

On 28 September, Segantini dies, struck down by peritonitis on the Schafberg, a mountain he had climbed to work on the Trittico della Natura (Triptych of Nature)

In Berlin, the first official exhibition of the Secession is held

Personal exhibitions in Berlin and Brussels

In Milan and in Arco a Committee for a Monument to Giovanni Segantini is created, on the initiative of Tomaso Bresciani, to which the painters Eugenio Prati and Bartolomeo Bezzi adhere

In “Marzocco”, Gabriele d’Annunzio publishes Per la morte di Giovanni Segantini: laudi del cielo del mare della terra e degli eroi