Antonio Ligabue
Italian painter (1899–1965)
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Key Takeaways
- Antonio Ligabue (18 December 1899 – 27 May 1965; born Antonio Laccabue ) was an Italian painter.
- Biography He was born in Zürich, Switzerland on 18 December 1899, to Elisabetta Costa, a native from Cencenighe Agordino, and supposedly to Bonfiglio Laccabue (the true identity of the father is still unknown), native from Reggio Emilia.
- In 1942 the painter changed his surname from Laccabue to Ligabue, presumably because of the hate towards his father, whom he considered guilty of the uxoricide of his mother.
- He began to work occasionally as a farm hand and conducted a wandering life.
- In 1919, following the complaint by Hanselmann, Ligabue was expelled from Switzerland.
Antonio Ligabue (18 December 1899 – 27 May 1965; born Antonio Laccabue) was an Italian painter. He was one of the most important Naïve artists of the 20th century.
Biography
He was born in Zürich, Switzerland on 18 December 1899, to Elisabetta Costa, a native from Cencenighe Agordino, and supposedly to Bonfiglio Laccabue (the true identity of the father is still unknown), native from Reggio Emilia. His mother, Elisabetta, and three brothers died in 1913 as a result of food poisoning.
In 1942 the painter changed his surname from Laccabue to Ligabue, presumably because of the hate towards his father, whom he considered guilty of the uxoricide of his mother. In September 1900 he was entrusted to the Swiss Johannes Valentin Göbel and Elise Hanselmann. He began to work occasionally as a farm hand and conducted a wandering life. After an altercation with his foster mother, he was hospitalized in a psychiatric clinic.
In 1919, following the complaint by Hanselmann, Ligabue was expelled from Switzerland. From Chiasso he was moved to Gualtieri, in the province of Reggio Emilia, the hamlet of origin of the adoptive father but, not knowing a word of Italian, he tried to return to Switzerland.
Ligabue lived with support from the City Hospice of beggars. He began to paint in 1920. In 1928 he met Marino Mazzacurati, who appreciated his artistic capabilities and taught him the use of oil painting. In those years Ligabue devoted himself to painting and continued to wander aimlessly along the River Po.
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