Lecco, 1910 – Milan, 1992

Ennio Morlotti was born in Lecco in 1910. In his early years he lived between Lecco, Milan and Florence, trying to reconcile art study and work; in 1936 he enrolled at the Fine Arts Academy in Florence. The following year he stayed in Paris, where he discovered the great masters of modernity. On his return he moved to Milan, where he enrolled at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts and began to frequent the Milanese art scene. In 1940, Morlotti joined ‘Corrente’ together with Ernesto Treccani, Renato Guttuso, Renato Birolli and Bruno Cassinari.

After a second stay in Paris in 1947, he joined the Fronte Nuovo delle Arti, and following its split, participated in the Gruppo degli Otto, formed under the aegis of the art critic Lionello Venturi. Numerous in the 1950s and 1960s are the exhibitions and participations in important exhibitions, including the Venice Biennale in 1950, 1952 and 1954.

Characterised by an often thick layer of paint and intense tones, the artist’s most popular subjects are landscapes, still lifes and figure studies. In the 1960s, influenced by his long stays in Liguria, many of his canvases have olive trees and cacti as their subjects. In 1962 he was again invited to the Venice Biennale where he was awarded ex aequo with Giuseppe Capogrossi; he returned to Venice in 1972 and 1988. In 1986 and 1992 he participated in the Quadriennale in Rome.

He died suddenly in Milan in 1992.