Bice Lazzari

Key facts

Lived

1900–1981, Italian^[1]

Works held in

2 museums

Wikipedia

View article

Plan your visit to see Bice Lazzari →

• What is Bice Lazzari known for?+

  Bice Lazzari is known for her decorative murals for public buildings and her later paintings. Her late paintings are austere, often featuring graphite lines on monochrome backgrounds.
• What is Bice Lazzari's most famous work?+

  It is difficult to name one single "most famous" work by Bice Lazzari, as her notability rests on her long career and varied output. She worked in both figurative and abstract modes, and across several media. Lazzari began her artistic career making representational pieces. One early example is *Foglia* (1952^[1]), an oil on wood. Other works from the 1950s include *Seme nel vento* (1953), *Albero* (1953), and *Carrozzone* (1953). *Il saldatore* (1956), now in the collection of the Museo Civico di Torino, is another example of her earlier representational style. Later, Lazzari moved toward abstraction. She is known for her exploration of colour, line, and form, often in a minimalist style. She gained recognition for her large scale paintings and her work with textiles. She also experimented with neon and mixed media installations.
• What should I know about Bice Lazzari's prints?+

  Bice Lazzari (1900^[1]-1981^[1]) was an Italian^[1] artist known for her abstract geometric compositions. While she worked across media, including painting and design, her prints offer a more accessible entry point to her distinctive style. Printmaking gained recognition as a significant art form in the latter half of the 20th century. Artists globally turned to it to express aesthetic concepts. Lazzari's prints, like those of her contemporaries, participate in this movement. They reflect a broader interest in the creative potential of the medium. When considering Lazzari's prints, bear in mind that the decision to limit an edition is the artist's choice, not a technical requirement. Printmakers usually limit their editions. Each print is marked with the edition number on the bottom left margin, the title in the centre, and the signature on the right. These conventions, although informal, are widely respected.
• What style or movement did Bice Lazzari belong to?+

  Bice Lazzari's artistic style is difficult to categorise neatly, as she moved through several phases during her career. In the late 1930s, Lazzari engaged with the Milanese artistic scene, which was then dominated by the Corrente movement. This group of artists rejected the cultural restrictions of the Fascist regime and sought inspiration from European art. They shared a generic expressionism, sometimes lyrical, sometimes dramatic. After the Second World War, Lazzari explored abstract art, and was associated with artists who moved away from realism, favouring pure expressive values. By the early 1950s, she developed a personal abstract style, characterised by coloured gestures that were sometimes interwoven, sometimes scattered. Lazzari's work also has links to the MAC (Movimento Arte Concreta), an Italian^[1] group of Concrete Art, which focused on non-figurative geometric abstraction.
• What techniques or materials did Bice Lazzari use?+

  Bice Lazzari was an Italian^[1] artist who worked with a variety of materials and techniques throughout her career. Lazzari is known for her use of colour and geometric forms. She often worked on canvas, employing oil paint to create layered effects. Her application of paint involved brushes and spatulas, allowing for a manipulation of texture. She also experimented with different media, including tempera, a fast-drying paint, and mixed media approaches. The artist's practice included an interest in surface quality. She would prepare her canvases carefully, considering the interaction between the materials and her artistic intentions. Her methods involved considered choices about the medium and technique, as well as aesthetic decisions.
• What was Bice Lazzari known for?+

  Bice Lazzari (1900^[1]-1981^[1]) was an Italian^[1] artist known for her geometric abstract art. Initially, Lazzari explored decorative schemes and design work. In 1922^[1], she began exhibiting applied art alongside artists of the Wiener Werkstätte at the Monza Biennale. During the 1930s, she created designs for furniture, textiles, ceramics, and lacquered panels, some of which were displayed at the 1935 Brussels International Exposition and the 1937 Paris International Exposition. After the Second World War, Lazzari shifted her focus to painting. Her mature style, developed in the 1950s, involved subtle, lyrical abstraction. She worked with simple shapes and muted colours to create compositions that evoke a sense of harmony and balance. Although she experimented with different media, she is best known for her paintings on canvas and paper.
• When did Bice Lazzari live and work?+

  Bice Lazzari was born in Venice in 1900^[1] and died in Rome in 1981^[1]. Her artistic career began with applied arts, and she exhibited lace, embroidery, and batik works in the 1920s and 1930s. In 1935^[1], she created a mural for the Marine Exhibition at the 6th Milan Triennale. She also designed geometric-style posters. During this period, Lazzari engaged with architectural projects, creating decorative panels for ocean liners and collaborating with architects. After the Second World War, Lazzari moved toward abstraction. In the 1950s, she developed a personal style characterised by geometric forms and subtle colour. She explored spatial relationships on canvas. Her work during this time moved away from earlier associations with applied art and design.
• Where can I see Bice Lazzari's work?+

  Bice Lazzari's works have been included in several exhibitions, so her pieces can be viewed in various collections. The Civico Museo Revoltella in Trieste, and the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea in Rome hold examples. Her pieces have also been displayed at the Galleria Civica d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea in Turin, and the Galleria Internazionale d’Arte Moderna-Ca Pesaro in Venice. The Civico Museo d'Arte Contemporanea, Milan, has also been a location for her work. These museums have extensive collections of 20th-century Italian^[1] art; however, it is worth checking their current exhibition schedules, as not all works are always on display. Additionally, various galleries and private collections may hold her art; these may become accessible via special events.
• Where was Bice Lazzari from?+

  Bice Lazzari was an Italian^[1] artist. Although sources do not specify her exact place of birth, her career was largely based in Italy. In 1947^[1], the journal *Forma 1* was founded in Rome by artists Achille Perilli, Piero Dorazio, Giulio Turcato, and Pietro Consagra. The same year, the *Fronte Nuovo delle Arti* group was formed in Venice. It comprised twelve artists, including Birolli, Guttuso, Morlotti, Vedova, and Turcato. The *Fronte* was a reorganised version of the *Nuova Secessione Italiana*, which had been founded in 1945. Lazzari's work can be contextualised within a broader artistic environment that included the *Movimento Arte Concreta* (MAC), which held its first exhibition in Milan in December 1948. MAC embraced a broad stylistic definition of geometric abstraction. Later, artists such as Alberto Burri, Lucio Fontana, and Emilio Vedova were associated with *informel* a loose, gestural form of painting akin to American Abstract Expressionism.
• Who did Bice Lazzari influence?+

  Bice Lazzari's work relates to Italian^[1] Futurism, and she, in turn, influenced later artists. After 1945^[1], a generation of young artists emerged who continually looked back to the language of the Futurist painters. Alberto Burri situated himself in the tradition of Enrico Prampolini in his combinations of materials. Piero Dorazio looked to Giacomo Balla's iridescent, abstract interpenetrations when working on the energy of luminous chromaticism. Lucio Fontana drew inspiration from Filippo Tommaso Marinetti's notion of the incorporeal, broadening his language to move from Spatial Concepts through fluorescent light environments to the Manifesto of the spatial movement for television. Emilio Vedova exploded the enigma of Umberto Boccioni's materials only to control it through a gestural theatricality. Arte Povera, dominant in the 1960s, shared similarities with American art in its reductive imagery, minimal framework, and focus on process over product. Artists such as Giovanni Anselmo, Luciano Fabro, Giulio Paolini, Jannis Kounellis, Mario Merz, Giuseppe Penone, and Gilberto Zorio expanded the concept of art, challenging gallery conventions.
• Who influenced Bice Lazzari?+

  Bice Lazzari's artistic development occurred in a milieu influenced by Futurism and Rationalist architecture. The experiments of Marcello Nizzoli, who exhibited with La Famiglia Artistica in 1914^[1], helped lay the foundations of Italian^[1] design. Post-war cinema, photography, graphic arts and furniture design would be inconceivable without the prior work of Anton Giulio Bragaglia, Depero, Carlo Mollino, Bruno Munari and Enrico Prampolini; all first- or second-generation Futurists. Furthermore, post-war Rationalist architecture, through Giuseppe Pagano and Edoardo Persico, harkens back to Antonio Sant'Elia. After 1945, young artists frequently referenced Futurist painters. Alberto Burri situated himself in the tradition of Prampolini in his combinations of materials. Piero Dorazio looked to Balla's iridescent, abstract interpenetrations in working on the energy of luminous chromaticism. Lucio Fontana drew inspiration from Filippo Tommaso Marinetti's notion of the incorporeal in regard to radio and cinema. Emilio Vedova exploded the enigma of Boccioni's materials, only to control it through a gestural theatricality.
• Who was Bice Lazzari?+

  Bice Lazzari (1900^[1]-1981^[1]) was an Italian^[1] painter who moved from figurative work to abstraction. Born in Venice, she studied at the Benedetto Marcello Conservatory and later at the Scuola Superiore di Architettura. She began her artistic career designing textiles, furniture, and ceramics. Lazzari's early paintings were representational, but during the 1930s, she moved towards geometric abstraction. This change was influenced by her interest in architecture and design, and she explored the relationship between form, colour, and space in her work. After the Second World War, Lazzari continued to develop her abstract style, experimenting with different materials and techniques. She was associated with the MAC (Movimento Arte Concreta) group, which promoted abstract art in Italy. Her work was exhibited in several galleries, including the Galleria del Naviglio in Milan. She also participated in the Rome Quadriennale and the Venice Biennale.