Raúl Soldi

• Name — Raúl Soldi • Born — 27 March 1905 • Birthplace — Buenos Aires, Argentina • Died — 21 April 1994 • Place of death — Buenos Aires, Argentina • Known for — Painting

Raúl Soldi was born into an artistic family in Buenos Aires in 1905, his father was a cellist and his eldest sister studied piano and singing. He began his studies at the National Academy of Fine Arts, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Still in school, in 1921, he traveled to Europe. He stayed in Germany until 1923, then moved to Italy where he enrolled in the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, in Milan, where he remained until 1932. While in Italy, he became involved with groups of vanguard artists. In 1932, he returned to Argentina and continued to produce oils, watercolors, inks, drawings, lithographs and monocopies. In 1933, he began to work as cinematographic theatrical designer for national films and continued this work for fifteen years. In 1941, he was granted a scholarship by the National Commission of Culture and traveled to Hollywood in the United States. He stayed in the U.S.A from 1941 to 1943. In Hollywood, he worked in films as a production designer and scenic designer. In 1953, he began work upon the murals of the Church of Santa Ana, Glew, Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina – a project that took 23 summers to complete. In 1966, he redecorated the Cupola of the Teatro Colón of Buenos Aires with several dancers and musicians from old times without receiving any pay of this big project. In 1968, he travelled to Israel, to paint a fresco in the Basilica of the Anuncición, in Nazareth, a mural inspired by the miracle of the Virgin of Luján. In 1971, he created a mosaic and painted a mural for the Church of San Isidro Labrador in Buenos Aires. In 1973, his work Santa Ana and the Virgin was included in the Collection of Modern and Contemporary Art, Vatican Museums, in the South American room. In 1979, his mural Santa Fiorentina was incorporated in the Cathedral of the city of Campana, province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. In 1989, he created the mosaic Camerata Bariloche, for the Museum of the Park of Portofino, Italy.

From 1930, Soldi's work was displayed in the National Hall Culture, and in diverse provincial Halls throughout Argentina. Internationally, his work was displayed in the International Expo of San Francisco (1933), International Exhibition of Paris (1937), in New York (1941–1943) and in exhibitions throughout Romania in 1970. In 1992, 210 of Soldi's works were displayed in The History of Argentina exhibition at the National Rooms of Culture, Argentina. Half million people attended the exhibition, setting a record for an Argentine artist. Raúl Soldi's work is represented in the main museums and art galleries of the world, including the Museum of Modern Art of New York (MOMA), Florence and the Gallery of Modern Art in Milan.

• Goal (1936) • Girls Orchestra (1941) • Carmen (1943) • The Corpse Breaks a Date (1944)