Pirzio, in the world Elio Fiore, was born in Florence in 1920. He inherited
from his family the ancient Florentine traditions, which he will deeply
keep rooted in him during his lifetime: the big love for his Florence
which, in the long run, he will see change and "ruined" by the
chaos; the study and the respect for the works of art which, as a genuine
Florentine, he admired, felt part of himself and of which he was under
the spell; in the end a strong sanguine temperament, never inclined to
silence if there was something to say and ready to stand up for his values;
he declared himself to be polemic: in his opinion polemics meant honesty
"…woe betide who is pleased with everything instead of fighting
for his rights."
When only 20 he was called to take part in the second world war: he left,
unaware of how his life would change. Captured by the Germans, he was
forced to six years of imprisonment. In the meantime he promised to himself
that if he was able to come back home, he would devote the rest of his
life to his only passion: painting. On the occasion of an exhibition of
his works at the Chiostrina, he wrote about himself:
"I was born in via Romana, where Florentines are really Florentines.
I began drawing when I was a young boy, by instinct, all by myself, in
the worship for the world of art. Little by little sensations and feelings
began to take shape, rejoicing at building, day by day, a reality first
followed as a love dream. Then the tragic experience of six long years
of war and imprisonment in Germany left problems between myself and life
unsolved…"
1947-1970
Since 1947, in his first studio in Panicale street at the very centre of Florence like the following ones, he had entirely devoted himself to his job. After some traces left by the war and impressed on the paintings with the only colour grey, he took up new experiments, defying unusual techniques with the passion typical of his nature: he painted still-lives, compositions, the inside of his studio and landscapes. He declared himself to be an Artisan of art. He faced the composizioni materiche: they are a sort of assemblies, casual proximities, objects painted with a vivid brush, sensitive to touch, sometimes even piled up. It was the fashion of the moment, of the immediate success that spread not only throughout the Italian market. His works met with the favour of the public and orders were made from the U. S., although this did not satisfy the artist. The pittura materica, in fact, repeats itself thus killing the research. Therefore, after five years he gave up this technique. Pirzio drew inspiration from imaginary flowers that seemed to be fixed in time, neither fresh nor withered but similar to roses which seemed to tell everything about the environment and people around them. Flowers which had seen several ages and knew everything about man: that's why Pirzio painted them inside a room. It seemed as if he had painted the man who lived in the room.
An artist of great talent, endowed with an impulsive temperament, he was considered to be, in the immediate after-war years, one of the most committed members of the student protest in Tuscany, culminated in that famous undertaking (together with Pietro Annigoni, Mario Romoli) that was the occupation of The Torre di Arnolfo in Palazzo Vecchio, in order to avoid the expatriation of 45 works of art of the Galleria degli Uffizi on the occasion of an itinerant exhibition in the U. S.. Closed on the bell tower while screaming gather all the people in Florence, Pirzio impressed those days on the oil-painting Sulla Torre d'Arnolfo (45x60). The crowd gathered in della Signoria's Place and Mayor La Pira, as an intermediary, met the four painters closed on the tower. This news reached Rome immediately and contributed to raising the confusion which spread all over the country owing to the expatriation of the works of art. At the Ministry meetings and clashes were increasing. Annigoni kept in touch with the government; the day after, at 6:30 p.m., among a rejoicing crowd, the four bold artists came out of the tower. The works of art would not have left for the overseas tour.
The unexpected fame had not yet extinguished that, on April 16th 1957, Pirzio, together with Annigoni, Romoli and , founded the Associazione Torre d'Arnolfo in order to build the new Palace for the Exhibitions, which Florence really needed. The aim of the Associazione was the collection of funds: subscriptions were opened and works of art were sold at a fixed price. Almost a year later, with the selling of more than 400 drawings, it gathered more over one and a half million lire. Pirzio and Romoli, excited about having received a painting by Jean Cocteau, would involve in their project some other great artists: thus in 1958 they went to Cannes to meet Pablo Picasso. After some useless attempts, they resorted to a trick: they bought a bull to him. Picasso, who was really fond of bulls, couldn't help but receive the two painters. During the time spent together, Picasso asked Pirzio how it was possible for him to do art in Florence with the echo of such great artists. Pirzio answered:
"Art is something different. If there is art, it will show somehow. It's not worth, then, living in Florence, Milan or New York. If there is art, it will catch you and it is art which does rule your actions. You only feel an overpowering passion within yourself and you can't resist; you can't help but take your brush and, if your passion is too strong, all you will have to do is follow it."
Picasso dismissed the two bold Florentine painters with the drawing of a bull which looked to be more alive than a real one: a drawing which contributed to enriching the Collection of the Torre d'Arnolfo. As a recognition, Pirzio was appointed member of the Antica Compagnia del Paiolo, for which he would have worked as a secretary for many years.
1970-1990
Since the early 70s, Pirzio had almost become the painter of the moment: in this period he painted more than 100 portraits. Yet, made-to-order portraits killed the creativity of the artist. Thus Pirzio took up the research of primary materials such as iron drosses which he found on the shore of the beloved Golfo di Baratti. He put together every small part and, out of them, made forms and models to impress on the painting. The Meteoriti were born this way. They are paintings portraying moments of every day domestic life, where the characters are represented by the still-lives of the models created by Pirzio and other paintings showed in several personal and group exhibitions (Florence, Milan, Rome), which had won several prizes and been appreciated by the critic as well as the public. The Meteoriti charmed Pirzio so much that, thanks to them, he was able to represent his Man, often characterized by a deep pessimism but always supported by the flame of love.
The strong temperament of the artist finds its best expression in a wonderful painting L'Ultimo dei Saggi (300x200), which marks a turning point and sums up all his view, all his being in this world: it represents the rotten body of a man after an atomic explosion. The man, as a last token of his love and hope, gives a shelter with his scanty hands to a sprouting flower. From now on Pirzio, in order to give voice to his view of man properly, creates a new collection, called Uomini di Sempre: men who embody all the ancient values. The artist portrays their faces with great simplicity, conveying their ideas and feelings to the observers: their features are vague, yet full of sensations. They are the new men, survived the atomic explosion, thanks to whom Pirzio conveys strong, incisive and clear messages, thus alternating the inner conflicts of the Uomini di Sempre with the stillness typical of his desert sea landscapes: a way of resting the mind through solitude and oblivion. The collection is made up of either solitary characters or groups, such as the Dinastie, which represent the evolution of man and the passing of time. Often Pirzio portrays a family: a mother close to her child and a father, who is sometimes far from the centre of the painting and seen as part of the surrounding environment as if he did not want to break the magic atmosphere created by the love between mother and child. Maternity, in fact, is a subject which Pirzio will paint with passion throughout his life. The Maternità Verde (1964) and La Fonte della Vita (1970) are two clear instances of the above-mentioned subjec
A further stage of Pirzio's research which, above all, deals with the colour is represented by the Figure Nere: full length figures, isolated in their primordial, sculpturesque beauty. They occupy most of the canvas and do not need any support. You can see these figures against brilliant-coloured backgrounds, which seem to reflect their own light. These backgrounds seem to fade little by little as long as the observer stares at the painting. He writes:
"To make a work of art, you need to understand, I mean understand an anatomy, a figure, a colour, a form, a foreshortening, a light but, above all, understand these things all together. You should see them with a modern eye, with lots of love yet mercilessly, rejoicing at a freedom which is nothing but an everyday conquest, not able to stand any other rule or law but its own."
In these few lines, we can recognize his theory of art. Freedom coming from every human convention: from now on he begins to live isolated:
"…I live and work in Florence, where artists fight side by side for a medal or a panegyric by the critic to hang onto the wall…I live and move in a heavy atmosphere that takes your breath away and fix the limits of the culture and the art of this town: a town living only on the memory of its great past."
In the mid 80s he made up his mind: he left his beloved Florence, aware of precluding all chance of being seen and admired. Yet he lived only for his art and, always thinking that the customer is supposed to look for the artist and not viceversa, moved first to Versilia, which he soon found too "burgeois" for him, then to the country, in Tuscany, where in the end he could find silence and nature. Parallel to this, Pirzio was carrying on his endless research for more and more essential and immediate means of expression. In this period he devoted himself to sculpture. It does not matter what material you have to carve, whether it is Onyx or Quartz or Serpentine from Prato, because in Pirzio's view, the most important thing for the artist is to carve. His direct, indelible cut caused him to come to terms with the material. Even when he was painting, the stroke of his brush was stronger, more intense, more immediate. The Uomini di Sempre are enriched with metaphysical signs and the portrait abandons his traditional meaning of visual resemblance in order to assume the one of inner resemblance. This is the portrait of the character, the temperament of the subject. Pirzio says:
"Who wants a portrait, can hang onto the wall a giant poster. As for me ….I paint the inside."
1991-2001
The recurrent theme of this last stage is represented by Desco, seen by Pirzio as the most natural meeting among the Uomini di Sempre; Desco's main feature is always essentiality: two characters, whether they are a couple or two friends sitting at a table where we can find a frugal meal, an apple (the latter endowed with a symbolical meaning) and two plates waiting to be filled or a slice of bread or a bunch of grapes. In the Convivio, an oil-painting of five metres, the table is half-laid: Jesus, sitting in front of his Apostoles, turns his back to the observer. His guests are the Uomini di Sempre, among whom the artist portrays himself and his daughter, the latter intent on giving him a slice of bread.
In 19… he was asked to fresco a chapel in the Church of San Niccolò in Florence: a work which can be still appreciated nowadays.
He wrote, looking back on his life: "…I'm passing away together with the years of discretion, which are showing me what I really need. I only need peace of mind and the FREEDOM of speech, of action, of thought. Of course without forgetting my own limits…"
'Till the end he painted his Uomini di Sempre only for himself and not for the public or the market. Endowed with a strong temperament and a brilliant polemic Florentine, Pirzio still symbolizes a rebellious voice which never gave up and always protested when there was something to protest for. How many men lead their lives like shadows without leaving any trace behind them. This is not the case of Pirzio because, till his death, he fought against every shame and every injustice around him. His shouts are still echoing through his paintings and sculptures and we (not deaf at all) will be still able to hear them now and, if we dare, we will also begin to shout. This is the message which Pirzio has left us.