The Credito Valtellinese Group Foundation, with the cooperation of Sondrio local government, has mounted an exhibition of paintings by Eliseo Fumagalli, which will be hosted at:

• Provincia di Sondrio headquarters, inside Sala Ligari;
• Credito Valtellinese Gallery of Palazzo Sertoli;
• Exhibition Halls of Museo Valtellinese di storia e arte

In order to turn the artistic talent of this painter from Delebio, Valtellina, to better account, the exhibition offers a comprehensive overview of Eliseo Fumagalli's body of work, including sketches for frescos in various churches in the provinces of Sondrio, Como and Milan (exhibited at Provincia di Sondrio Sala Ligari), drawings (exhibited at the Credito Valtellinese gallery), portraits and landscapes (exhibited at the Museum).

Over 70 original works of art will be on display. Some exhibits are part of private collections; others come from Museo Valtellinese di storia e arte. Fumagalli believed that painters should always work from a sketch in order to capture details and prepare for portraying reality. He painted several portraits of children and women. He also drew drapery in pastel or ink. But, most of all, he was a fresco painter. Famous frescos by Fumagalli can be admired on the walls of churches in Grosotto, Caspano, Mello, Ardenno, Legnano, Como and Bologna. His oil paintings were inspired by Tallone, for he painted with great energy, using bright colours. A colour catalogue consisting of 240 pages (format 30x21 cm) published by Tipolitografia Ignizio and edited by Piergiuseppe Magoni and Pino Fumagalli with detailed information about any aspect of Eliseo Fumagalli's work and illustrations by Federico Pollini, as well as a brochure are available from the gallery.

Biographical notes for Eliseo Fumagalli

Eliseo Fumagalli was born 1887, in a family of craftsmen from Delebio (province of Sondrio). He worked as a joiner till the age of 17, then his family moved to Milan. He was sent to Brera Academy of fine arts, where he met Carrą, Funi, Carpi and attended courses held by Cesare Tallone, Ludovico Pogliaghi and Giuseppe Mentessi, who was a great scene and portrait painter. He settled in Genoa, where he worked as illustrator with Ansaldo. Back to Milan, Fumagalli decided to devote himself to sacred art. The numerous frescos and a few canvases that he painted from 1915 to the early 1940s were inspired by the Bible. Great energy is a distinctive feature of Fumagalli's frescos. He worked incessantly for about twenty years. He is the author of important works of art in Valtellina, in the provinces of Como and Milan and in Bologna. Eliseo Fumagalli died in Delebio on July 16, 1943.