Emilio Giuseppe Dossena

An Italian painter, sculptor, talented restorer and poet, who worked in America (New York) for some time.

Dossena was born in the small village of Lodigiano in the Italian commune of Kevenego d’Adde, Lombardy. The boy was 12, when the father of a large and mostly minor family died. Together with the eldest 14-year-old brother, Giuseppe took care of his younger brothers and sisters. Only when they all got families, he was able to get married and do visual arts.

The artist made a significant contribution to the development of such Italian art movements as Neo-impressionism and Expressionism. He was successful and recognized during his life, a member of several academies and creative associations, was awarded the prestigious awards of Italy and the United States in the field of art and literature.

Key ideas:

– Starting a painter’s career with Impressionism, drawing mostly his impressions of reality, Giuseppe Dossena used a soft palette, reflecting the shyness of his character, which was also manifested into his work. It is easy to find in his early works created before the 1950s. In his canvases, there are shades of brown, burgundy and other mostly warm and calm tones.

– The industrial revolution, as well as the post-war economic boom, influenced the character of the artist’s brushstroke – it became more energetic, more powerfully conveying impressions. At the same time, Dossena retained his affection for Realism, which accompanied the artist practically during his whole artistic career, until he turned for a short time to Neo-expressionism, which is close to abstract painting. The works shine with green and bright blue colors, used in a “pure” form. During the 1950s, while retaining his stylistic choice and still providing the necessary restrictions and control over his compositions, he switched to a bolder, brighter palette and discovered new possibilities for himself.

– In his New York period, which began in the 1970s, the artist became even more interested in Expressionism, started to create compositions with more simplified shapes and no longer adhered to structural restrictions. New trends were inevitable for the creator who was far from his country. Forms, captured, as before, in the long study of nature, now contained strong emotions and were interpreted with particular expressiveness. Influential art historian D. Hall precisely noticed, “the works in a rich affirmative color convey a sense of nervous energy.” The form becomes just a pretext for the color expression, almost freed from conventions, which can be seen in the distortion of the perspectives and outlines of objects.

– The artists used all his energy, reinforced by his hatred for the “mechanical” New York, to create works the only purpose of which is to express his need to see his Italy again. Thus, Expressionism became a natural evolution caused by the influence of New York.

– Returning to his homeland, the artist returned to impressionistic techniques, although the trend towards more aggressive color processing remained. An American critic was right, saying, “a brilliant colorist, he (Dossena) brings the light of nature and the joy of life to canvas. The works are rich in density, lively, restless and, at the same time have a special delicate tenderness…”. This is confirmed by the last painting of the artist, which he created before leukemia took away his strength to hold the brush – his grandson William is depicted in it.