Adolfo De Carolis ( Montefiore dell'Aso
6 gennaio 1874 - Roma 7
febbraio 1928)
Italian painter, illustrator and wood-engraver.
He
studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Bologna (1888-92) and
at the Scuola di Decorazione Pittorica at the Museo Artistica
Industriale in Rome (1892-5). De Carolis began painting en
plein-air in the Roman Campagna under the influence of Nino
Costa's group, In Arte Libertas, with whom he exhibited in 1897.
At the Venice Biennale of 1899 he exhibited allegorical
paintings inspired by the Pre-Raphaelites. De Carolis became a
distinguished wood-engraver and illustrator, working with such
writers as Giovanni Pascoli and Gabriele D'Annunzio (for whom he
also created stage designs). He himself wrote essays on art for
various periodicals, including Hermes and Rinascimento. His
greatest achievements, however, were in decorative painting.
While creating mythological frescoes at the Salone del Consiglio
Provinciale at Ascoli Piceno (1907-9), De Carolis, together with
the architect Alfredo Brizzi, won the competition (1908) for the
decoration of the Salone del Palazzo del Podest? di Bologna. In
1911 he began a Renaissance-inspired scheme depicting aspects of
the history of civilization, with a particular emphasis on
Bologna's past; the project was completed by assistants after
his death. The wall paintings are in situ, but for safety
reasons the ceiling paintings were detached in 1972-3, and some
were ruined in the process. During the rest of his career De
Carolis executed numerous frescoes and wood-engravings.
Works:
Posters