Filippo De Pisis

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Filippo De Pisis (May 11, 1896 - April 2, 1956) was an Italian painter.

[edit] Biography

Filippo de Pisis was an Italian painter-poet who was born Luigi Filippo Tibertelli in Ferrara.

He debuted in 1916 as poet, with the collection "Canti della Croara." After he published his "Canti della Croara," De Pisis came into contact with Giorgio De Chirico, Carlo Carrà and Alberto Savinio, who were stationed in Ferrara during the war. The young De Pisis became the local guide for these members of the Parisian avant-garde. This association led to De Pisis's short allegiance with the School of Metaphysical painting. While he had not yet begun to paint, De Pisis hosted informal salons in his Ferrara apartments, where most of De Chirico's Metaphysical paintings were first exhibited.

In 1919 De Pisis moved to Rome, where he started to paint. While important editors of his time criticized had De Pisis for producing overly-sentimental poetry, this emotional streak translated well on canvas. De Pisis is best-known for his cityscapes, metaphysically-inspired maritime scenes, and still lifes, especially those depicting flowers. His work has a particularly airy, in-the-moment quality, and is laden with a sort of pathetic pleasure-pain. De Pisis also executed a large body of lesser-known work, comprised of homoerotic sketches of the male nude.

De Pisis spent his life in Rome, Paris and Venice. He lived a very extravagant lifestyle; he had a pet parrot named Coco, and in Venice he was one of a handful of residents at the time who used a gondola. He had two personal gondoliers on 24-hour duty, who wore black-and-gold livery.

De Pisis's work was shown twice in the Venice Biennale: once during his life, and once posthumously.

De Pisis's work for the Collezione Verzocchi in 1949-1950 is now housed in the Pinacoteca Civica of Forlì. A large portion of his work is also housed in the Museo Filippo de Pisis in Ferrara.

He died in Milan after a long illness, in 1956.