Early life Francesco's father Giovanni was of
French descent, and his mother Sara Castanier was
German. He initially studied under
Giovanni Battista Biscarra at the
Accademia Albertina. He later learned
fresco painting from the scenic designer of the
Teatro Regio at Turin,
Luigi Vacca, ultimately married Vacca's daughter.
Career In 1840 Gonin illustrated the revised and definitive edition of
Alessandro Manzoni's
I promessi sposi (
The Betrothed). He also illustrated a selection of the poetry of
Carlo Porta and
Tommaso Grossi written in
Milanese dialect,
Poesie scelte in dialetto milanese di C. Porta e T. Grossi (Milan, 1842), and in these illustrations he revealed a taste for the humble and the picturesque. From 1840 to 1841, he collaborated with
Carlo Bellosio to paint the ballroom and hall at the
Royal Palace in Turin. Francesco and Bellosio
frescoed for the
Castello di Racconigi. In 1844, he decorated the walls and ceiling of the theatre in the city of
La Spezia. In 1845, the
Carignano of Turin was decorated by Francesco. He spent the next year decorating three churches in Turin: San Massimo,
San Dalmazzo, and Santissima Annunziata. He painted the theaters of
Asti and
Vigevano, the Cathedral of Alessandria, the church Della Sforzesca, and the figures at the waiting hall of the
train station of Porta Nuova. He also painted many historical canvases.
Later years In 1854 Gonin succeeded Vacca as stage designer at the
Teatro Regio in Turin. His most famous piece was the large curtain depicting the Triumph of Venus, of which the sketch still exists (1854;
Turin Civic Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art). He was also a painter of historical, genre and religious subjects as well as landscapes and portraits. Some of his works are held in the
Galleria di Palazzo Bianco in Genoa and in the
Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna in Rome. == Select works ==