ALDO RAIMONDI (Rome 1902 - 1997 Milan)
Soriano nel Cimino
watercolor over black chalk. 19 1/4 x 27 3/8" (490 x 695mm). signed and inscribed: Aldo Raimondi Soriano Nel Cimino 6/10/40.
Soriano nel Cimino is in central Italy, in the region of Viterbo, Latium. Surely a superb setting, Raimondi imparts both majesty and mystery to Soriano, the latter by showing it in brilliant sunlight yet with smoke emitting from a number of chimneys. By framing the town with differing foliage, he counterbalances the medieval buildings with color and live elements.
Early in his career in Rome, Aldo Raimondi worked in the studio of Giuseppe Signorini. He attended the Academy of Fine Arts majoring in architecture. In 1926, after serving in the military, he moved to Parma where he taught at the Art Institute. Commissioned by the mayor of that city to paint in watercolor views of the old city, he proved his worth in that media and as a landscape artist and began to receive similar commissions in Italy and abroad. In 1939 he was appointed professor of watercolor at the Brera Academy but after the war, he left that post to work in film. Later he returned to his work as a painter, though not exclusively of landscapes; he painted flowers, portraits (including those of two popes) and animals as well.