Spartaco Vela

Spartaco Vela (Ligornetto, Ticino, 1853–1895) was an Italian painter, who painted genre, portraits, and landscapes.

He was the son of the famous Ticinese sculptor Vincenzo Vela. Spartaco was raised in Turin, but his father, later retired to Ligornetto. His first lessons in design were by his own father, who encouraged him to draw al vero and not copy masterpieces as many of the texts encouraged. Yet as a young man, he enrolled at the Brera Academy at Milan, where his skill was evident the professor Giuseppe Bertini. Other teachers were Eleuterio Pagliano and Mosè Bianchi. However, he was meticulous in producing works, dedicating himself to various esoteric studies. To the National Exposition of Milan he sent a large canvas, canvas, the largest of the exhibition, and it was: Rizpah, the Niobe of the Bible, guardian of the bodies of his sons made to hang by King David.^[1]

Museo Vincenzo Vela

After his death, Spartaco donated the house and works in his father's studio to the Swiss government for the establishment of a museum: Museo Vincenzo Vela in Ligornetto. The house designed by the architect Cipriano Ajmetti, was restructured in 2001 by architect Mario Botta, and displays the works of the sculptor in a novel setting. The museum displays some of Spartaco's paintings and sculptures of his uncle Lorenzo Vela. Among Spartaco's works at the museum are Lavatoio, Studio di nudo femminile, La strada presso la cava, Canal Grande.^[2]

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