Artists

Emilio Boggio

Italian-Venezuelan, 1857-1920

Of Italian, Venezuelan and French origin, Emilio Boggio grew up in the Paris region and in Venezuela. Although destined for a career in commerce, he joined the Académie Julian in 1878, where he attended the classes of Jean Paul Laurens. There he met Henri Martin with whom he established strong artistic ties, before becoming closer to Pissarro and Monet.

In 1883, he first participated in the Salon des Artistes Français, where he received a medal, and he exhibited at the Salon d'Automne from its creation in 1903 until 1918.

The art of Boggio is an extension of French Post-Impressionism. He was influenced by Van Gogh and added an Expressionistic touch which brought him closer to the pursuits of his friend Henri Martin, with whom he painted from real life.

The year before his death, in 1919, he returned to Caracas where he exhibited an ensemble of fifty-three works at the Central University of Venezuela. He used the opportunity to encourage young Venezuelan artists to break away from academic traditions by introducing them to European Impressionism.

Emilio Boggio remains to this day one of the pioneers of Post-Impressionism in Venezuela.