Preamble and short biography
Aldo Borgonzoni (Medicina, Bologna, June 12, 1913 - Bologna, February 17, 2004 ) was a very generous and prolific artist, both in terms of visual and literary expression, especially of autobiographical nature.
Aldo Borgonzoni’s birth centenary is mainly intended to fully celebrate and unveil his artistic stature in its multi-faceted, colorful and changing complexity, like a shimmering kaleidoscopic polyhedron, as evoked by the ideological versatility and clarity characterizing the narrative of his writings and paintings, always directed to understanding and representing the emotional landscape of the human being confronted with great trials: poverty, wars, spiritual tensions.
On June 10th 1983, on the occasion of the prize-giving ceremony of the Golden Neptune of the city of Bologna award, Aldo Borgonzoni wrote the following significant autobiographical testimony to the then Mayor Renzo Imbeni:
"Dear Mr. Mayor, I would like to thank you and the Municipal Council, as well as all my friends attending this ceremony. My artistic experience has developed in more than 50 years throughout Italian history, marked by profound changes in which I have been involved, never forgetting my sense of belonging to my “Po Valley” cultural background and my roots in my community, such as the laborers and rice weeders of Medicina, the reclamation activities implemented by Bonifica Renana by means of simple working tools, i.e. the spade, the shovel and the wheelbarrow, as well as the strikes suppressed by the advent of fascism, the desire for redemption from marginalization that was only partially met in the post-industrial reality of the '80s.
In 1930 I moved to Bologna, the second city of the Papacy, a wise, conservative and good-natured city.
Guido Reni’s Counter-reform memories still stirred a kind of culture that sought refuge in aesthetic taste. Several artists had already joined the “Manifesto of Fascist intellectuals” led by philosopher Giovanni Gentile. The ruling power had created an efficient and omnivorous [ sic! ] bureaucratic machine, even in the artistic field, which would absorb all the movements of the early Twenties: Futurism, Surrealism and the Twentieth century.
In 1933 I was appointed nominee in the Florentine selection of the Hollander prize at Palazzo Strozzi and later I took part in the artistic festivals organized by the Fascist Trust of the Arts, being the only single and limited meeting and debate opportunity, along with the most outstanding artistic members of my generation. In that very difficult situation I establish friendly relations with Corsi, Guidi, Morandi, as well as with critics, i.e. Arcangeli and Lonchi [sic! Longhi].
My artistic line was taking shape, through documents and travel.
My painting was dense and spiteful, in juxtaposition with an educated and digestive painting. It drew inspiration from expressionism and was deeply rooted in historical references dating back to Vitale da Bologna, Annibale Carracci and Maria Crespi in addition to the contemporary Roman group of Scipione and Mafai and the Milan group of Corrente, which I competed with in the 1942 Bergamo Prize.
Meanwhile, in Bologna, I ​​met with the antifascist militant leaders, Orlando Argentesi and Giovanni Bottonelli during the decisive years of the war, which added political motives and contents to my rebelliousness."
