Background
Galileo Chini was born on December 2, 1873, in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. His father died when he was thirteen years old.
Florence, Tuscany, Italy
Galileo Chini studied at Academy of Fine Arts of Florence.
Florence, Tuscany, Italy
Galileo Chini studied at Academy of Fine Arts of Florence.
1895
1911
1911
1911
1914
1937
Galileo Chini was born on December 2, 1873, in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. His father died when he was thirteen years old.
After Galileo Chini finished elementary school, he attended art school. At the age of twenty two, he enrolled at Academy of Fine Arts of Florence (the Accademia delle Belle Arti di Firenze).
As his father died when Galileo Chini was thirteen, he began to work with his uncle who was a decorator and restorator. In 1896, Chini and some of his friends founded "Arte della Ceramica". The factory, its logo featuring a pomegranate and two clasped hands, soon gained international fame.
In 1906 he founded a factory with his cousin called "Fornaci di San Lorenzo". He created not only ceramic pieces there, but also designed and produced furniture, decorated wood, glasswork and tiles. It is during this period that he gained the reputation for introducing Art Nouveau to Italy.
In 1911 he travelled to Bangkok where he was invited to decorate the King of Siam’s palace. During his two year stay he decorated the magnificent throne room in the palace as well as being commissioned to paint official portraits of the Royal Family and other members of the court. In the 1920s he also worked as a stage–designer creating scenes for productions such as Giacomo Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi and Turandot.
He was also responsible for several of the paintings and decorations in the Brandini Chapel at Castelfiorentino, the church of San Francesco de' Ferri in Pisa, and the Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall in Bangkok. His theatrical work included designing the sets for the European premiere of Puccini's opera Gianni Schicchi (Rome, January 1919) and the world premiere of his Turandot (Milan, 1926). He also created the sets for the premieres of Umberto Giordano's opera La cena delle beffe (Milan, 1924) and Sem Benelli's play of the same name on which the opera was based (Rome, 1909).
During the last years of his life, he lived mainly in Versilia, in Fossa Dell'Abate (today Lido Di Camaiore), where he had a beautiful villa (built in the Liberty style), which is now the "Club I Pini Hotel where you can still find some of his paintings and works of art.
Pineta di Vareggio
Velieri sullo scalo a Viareggio
1937Summer
Il mio cortile (a Bangkokg)
1911Il tifone
1911La Danzatrice
1911The Green Fields of Tobbiana
Piastrella con Pavone
Allégorie de la peinture
1895La primavera che perennemente si rinnova
1914La primavera che perennemente si rinnova (dettaglio)
Strumenti musicali
