Guido Odierna

Rough Waters Capri

1960

Guido Odierna noted painter, born November 13th, 1913 in Capri, Italy, known for his seascapes in oil, landscapes, still lifes, botanical, coastal and fishing boat scenes in places such as Capri, Naples, Florence, Rome, the Amalfi coast and Venice. Odierna studied at the Royal Academy and with the great seascape painter Cavalier Michele Federico (Italian, 1884–1966), and also in the studio of artist Konstantin Ivanovich Gorbatov (Russian, 1876–1945) who was one of the outstanding painters of Capri (sometimes listed as Constantin Ivanovich Gorbatoff). In Odierna’s paintings, he interpreted and captured Capri with her fierce rocks and seaside cliffs along the translucent sea, the mountains of the Piemonte region (or Piedmont) which starkly rise into the blue sky, the golden glow of Rome and the mother of pearl hues of Venice--all with equal poetic passion. His love of the sea shows in his seascapes, where the waters take on their personalities. The waters of Capri, Trieste, Chioggia and Venice all feature prismatic impressions and sensations within his paintings along with expressed inspiration and fine technique - truly, a master of his palette and brush. Odierna’s paintings of Capri depict many different areas of the island and made up a large part of his body of work. He lived in Capri and maintained his art gallery studio there located at Viale Certosa, 19 throughout the summer season with his family. When in Capri he would often climb down over the rocks to the sea and take in its majestic beauty which “…explains the underlying inspiration of the artist, his affinity with nature, his choice of companions whose gaze, rustling movements, or silence, is the language of understanding” During the winters, Odierna maintained his other art gallery studio in Rome located at Via Ezio, 24 where he displayed and sold his works along with other artists that he represented. He had over 35 solo exhibitions during his career, in places such as Rome, Milan, Turin, Genoa, Biella, Vercelli, Catania, Trieste, and group exhibitions in France and the U.S. Walter Meibohm would often visit Odierna and his family on his regular art buying trips to Europe and purchase his works along with paintings by his represented artists. The Meibohm family maintained a working relationship and friendship with the Odierna's even after Walter stopped traveling to Europe in the late 1970s.