Vittore Grubicy
| Vittore Grubicy de Dragon | |
|---|---|
Portrait of Vittore Grubicy by Giovanni Segantini
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| Born |
15 October 1851 Milan |
| Died | 4 August 1920 (aged 68) Milan |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Notable work | Winter in the Mountains |
| Movement | Divisionism |
Vittore Grubicy de Dragon (15 October 1851 – 4 August 1920) was an Italian painter, art critic and art gallery owner who was largely responsible for introducing into Italian painting the optical theories of Divisionism. His writings and paintings influenced a generation of late 19th-century Italian painters. In addition, the Grubicy Gallery became one of the first art enterprises to be run on the concept of exhibiting living artists that were represented as clients of the gallery.
Grubicy grew up in a well-to-do family in Milan. Both of his parents were great art lovers, and from an early age he was introduced to the art circles in Milan and other European cities.
After his father died in 1870, Grubicy became involved with a bohemian group of Milanese artists, poets and writers known as the Scapigliatura, who sought to blur the differences between art and life. He was so taken with this new lifestyle that he convinced his brother Alberto to join him in buying an art gallery, which came to be known as the Galleria Fratelli Grubicy. His brother ran the financial aspects of the gallery while Vittore traveled throughout Europe looking for the newest art trends. Their gallery initially specialized in Scapigliatura artists such as Tranquillo Cremona and Daniele Ranzoni, but within a few years it began to feature newer Italian artists that included Giovanni Segantini, Emilio Longoni and Angelo Morbelli.
Between 1882 and 1885 Grubicy spent most of his time in the Netherlands, where he became friends with artists of the Hague School, especially Anton Mauve. Mauve strongly influenced Grubicy as an artist and in his critical approach to art. When he returned to Italy Grubicy encouraged the artists he represented to emulate the styles of Mauve and Mauve's cousin-in-law, Vincent van Gogh. Painter Emilio Longoni wrote, "Vittore Grubicy has brought Divisionism from abroad. He's having Segantini, Morbelli and me do it ourselves." Grubicy's passion for Divisionism was so strong that he convinced Segantini to rework an already finished painting, Ave Maria by the Lake, in a Divisionist technique.
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