Giovanni Bragolin
Bruno Amadio (9 November 191122 September 1981), popularly known as Bragolin and also known as Angelo Bragolin, Giovanni Bragolin and Franchot Seville, was the creator of the group of paintings known as Crying Boys. The paintings feature a variety of tearful children looking morosely straight ahead. They are sometimes called "Gypsy boys" although there is nothing specifically linking them to Romani people.
Also recorded as Bruno Amadio · Franchot Seville
Giovanni Bragolin
- Name
- Bruno Amadio
- Born
- 9 November 1911
- Birthplace
- Venice, Italy
- Died
- 22 September 1981
- Place of death
- Padua, Italy
- Occupation
- Painter
- Nationality
- Italy · Kingdom of Italy
- Known for
- The Crying Boy
- Languages
- Italian
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Documentary summary
Bruno Amadio (9 November 191122 September 1981), popularly known as Bragolin and also known as Angelo Bragolin, Giovanni Bragolin and Franchot Seville, was the creator of the group of paintings known as Crying Boys. The paintings feature a variety of tearful children looking morosely straight ahead. They are sometimes called "Gypsy boys" although there is nothing specifically linking them to Romani people.
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Documentary evidence
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Authority files
wikidata · Q9296553 · wikipedia · Giovanni Bragolin
In this article
Biography
Biography
He was an academically trained painter, working in post-war Venice as painter and restorer, producing the Crying Boy pictures for tourists. At least 65 such paintings were made under the name Bragolin, reproductions of which were sold worldwide. He was not always paid royalties for the reproductions. In the 1970s he was found to be alive and well-to-do and still painting in Padua. Claims that he fled to Spain after the war, painting children from a local orphanage which subsequently burned down, appear to be an unconfirmed urban legend.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Bruno Amadio • Born — 9 November 1911 • Birthplace — Venice, Italy • Died — 22 September 1981 • Place of death — Padua, Italy • Other Names — Giovanni Bragolin Angelo Bragolin Franchot Seville • Occupation — Painter • Notable Works — The Crying Boy
Identity and origins
Identity and origins
He also worked under the names Giovanni Bragolin and Bragolin. The authorities additionally record the headings Bruno Amadio and Franchot Seville. His recorded language was Italian.
Identity
Identity
Giovanni Bragolin is recorded as painter.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1911
Giovanni Bragolin born at Venice.
1981
Giovanni Bragolin died at Padua.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
- Madrid
Named but not plotted · 2
Venice.
Birth place
Padua.
Death place
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Massimo Polidoro, "Curse That Painting!", Skeptical Inquirer, v.36, n.6, pp.17-19 (Nov.-Dec. 2012).
- 2.BBC Radio 4 - Punt PI, Series 3, Episode 4. BBC.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Wikidata, structured authority record Q9296553: Giovanni BragolinWikimedia Foundation
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Paintings
19,183 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Giovanni BianconiArtist
- Giovanni BilivertiArtist
- Giovanni BoniniArtist
- Giovanni BonsiArtist
- Giovanni BuonconsiglioArtist
- Giovanni Camillo SagrestaniArtist
- Giovanni CanavesioArtist
- Giovanni CantiArtist
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