Ernesto Serra

Serra was born on 24 March 1860 in Varallo Sesia, Italy. He studied at the Accademia Albertina in Turin under Professor Andrea Gastaldi (1826–1889) and won a gold medal for portrait painting. At the , organised by the Società Promotrice dell'Industria Nazionale in Turin, he exhibited a portrait of a young lady called Lilia, also known as Elda, where he exhibited Maura pienserosa and Visione at the Exposition Universelle (1889). After his return to Italy, he had his studio at Corso Valentino 2 in Turin. In 1897 Serra exhibited paintings at the Biennale di Venezia (Venice Biennale) and in 1898 exposed three paintings (Compagni di giuochi, ''Venditrice d'aranci and Una mossa difficile) at the Esposizione Generale Italiana, (Exposition of Sacred Art) in Turin, for which he was awarded a silver medal. In 1901 he exposed Falciatore (the haymaker) at the International Art Exposition of Munich, which was very well received and re-exposed in 1904 at the Internazionale in Rome and in 1913 at the Esposizione della Promotrice di Belle Arti in Turin. In 1902 he participated in the Esposizione Quadriennale di Belle Arte in Turin with Fiori d'aprile''. Many of Serra's paintings were acquired by state and municipal galleries, but he was also supporterd by king Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and by Princess Isabella of Bavaria, the Duchess of Genoa. Later in his life he focused on landscape painting of the mountains near Turin. Ernesto Serra died in Turin on 17 May 1915 and sketches, drawings and paintings in his studio were auctioned off by Galleria Bollardi in Turin in 1917. ==List of paintings==

• Gypsy Woman with a Tambourine, 1883. Oil on canvas, 79x125 cm. • Farfalla nera (black butterfly, young man's portrait), no date. Exhibited at L'Esposizione di Belle Arti a Brera in 1885. • Lilia no date. • Venetian marriage, no date. • First communion, Venice, no date. Oil on canvas. • Maura pienserosa (Pensive Maura), no date. Oil on canvas, 30x40 cm. Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna, Rome, Italy. • Visione, no date. Galleria Civica d'Arte Moderna, Turin, Italy. • Alla Fontana, no date. Oil on canvas, 85x130 cm. • Atmospheric sunsets, no date. Oil on canvas, pair of paintings, one signed, 60 x 100 cm. • Compagni di giuochi, no date. Oil on canvas. Exposed at the 1898 Esposizione Generale Italiana in Turin. • Una mossa difficile, no date. Oil on canvas. Exposed at the 1898 Esposizione Generale Italiana in Turin. • ''Venditrice d'aranci'' (The orange seller), no date. Oil on canvas, 85x130 cm. Exposed at the 1898 Esposizione Generale Italiana in Turin. • ''Venditrice d'aranci'' (The orange seller), no date, Oil on canvas, 58x90 cm. • Il Sonno del Bambino Gesù, Oil on canvas. Exposed at the 1898 Esposizione d'Arte Sacra Antica e Moderna in Turin. • La Maddalena nel Deserto, Oil on canvas. Exposed at the 1898 Esposizione d'Arte Sacra Antica e Moderna in Turin. • Girl with basket of lambs, no date. Oil on canvas, 90x133 cm. • Haymaking in the Forest, no date. Oil on canvas, 119x168 cm. • Mucca al pascolo (cow in meadow), no date. Oil on panel, 12x18 cm. • Gentiluomo A Cavallo (Gentleman Riding Horse), 1899. Oil on canvas, 143x300 cm. • Dama Che Legge (Lady reading), no date. Oil on canvas, 112x167 cm. • Dolci Pensieri, no date. Oil on canvas, 66x91 cm. • Fanciulla Col Gatto, no date. Oil on canvas, 36x50 cm. • Val di Cogne, no date. Oil on canvas, 140x100 cm. ==Art gallery==

File:Serra ernesto 1860-1915 elda portrait-of-a-lady.jpg|Version of Lilia or Elda, 1885–1890, oil on canvas File:Ernesto Serra (1860-1915), Primavera.jpg|Primavera File:Ernesto Serra (1860-1915), La Maddalena.jpg|La Maddalena nel Deserto, oil on canvas. Exhibited at the Galleria d'Arte Moderna all'Esposizine d'Arte Sacra, Turin, 1898. File:Ernesto Serra (1860-1915) Alla Fontana.jpg|Alla Fontana File:Ernesto Serra (1860-1915), Compagni di giuochi.jpg|Compagni di giuochi. Exhibited at the Esposizione Generale Italiana, Turin, 1898. ==References==