Tranquillo Marangoni, Woodcuts
22 agosto 2015 - 04 ottobre 2015
Tranquillo Marangoni (Pozzuolo del Friuli, 1912 – Ronco Scrivia, 1992) was one of the most important European woodcut artists of the 20th century.
He enjoyed working with wood since childhood in his father’s workshop, but it was only at the age of thirty that he began to devote himself to woodcutting at the request of some of his friends. His early works include ex libris for friends and libraries, but also stamps and seals for the German commands that Marangoni created for permits and documents for partisans involved in the battle for liberation. His creative vein came to the fore after the war. He began to produce woodcuts on commission and took part in various exhibitions and art events, including the Venice Biennale in 1952, 1954 and 1956. In the shipyards of Monfalcone, where he worked as a draughtsman, he created various carved wooden panels to decorate the interiors of ships.
Before moving to Liguria, where he spent the last years of his life, Marangoni dedicated many of his works to Friuli Venezia Giulia. The woodcuts on display at the CID, created between 1950 and 1951, were printed in 1951 in a collection named Il Friuli, for the 75th anniversary of the foundation of the Cassa di Risparmio di Udine bank.
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