Biography
«And the hand moves on its own.»
Self-taught, she had a lifelong passion for drawing: from charcoal to sanguine, from watercolours to oil painting.
Origins
She was born on 2 September 1941 in Montopoli Val d’Arno, in Tuscany, between the Arno and the Pisan hills, into a family where painting was not a trade but a companion. Her sister Iliana painted, as did her brother Saverio.
Her passion for horses, one of her most recognisable subjects, came from her father and grandfather: "powerful animals that run", as she called them, fixed in charcoal and sanguine in a few decisive strokes.
Drawing, oil, patience
She trained herself by practising and observing. Over the years she explored the techniques out of curiosity: watercolours for flowers, oils for portraits and still lives, pastels for motherly faces and intimate scenes.
And the hand moves on its own; it has understood what it must do. You take the blank sheet; at some point it comes alive, and you don't let it go. It obeys you.
Bruna Mannucci (translated from Italian)
The strength of kindness
Kindness was her strength, and she never gave up. For those around her she always had a kind word, a smile, a gesture: the same care she put into her paintings.
The years in Pisa
For about twenty years she lived and worked in Pisa. They were years of continuous work and openness: she took part in the Circolo Pittorico “il Cenacolo” and moved through the artistic and intellectual life of the city: studios, book launches, vernissages and conversations with painters, poets and critics.
From those years remain friendships and dialogues that accompanied her whole path, among them the friendship with Enrico Fornaini, "great friend and fellow artist", and with other companions of the Cenacolo.
Music and singing
Alongside painting, music and singing were lifelong companions. She listened to and sang Joan Baez and Caterina Valente, romanze and opera arias, and village lullabies, as in «Che sarà» by José Feliciano. On the turntable spun records of opera and of Ennio Morricone: very different pieces, sung at home between the brushes and the everyday.
The garden
In the fields behind the house, together with her husband Romano, she tended plants and flowers (roses, daisies, sunflowers) and an orchard, including figs and grapes, with the same patience she brought to the easel. Many of those flowers entered her paintings as models and subjects: the same nature cared for every day, then fixed on paper or canvas.
The Biblioteca di Vecchiano
Later she moved to Vecchiano, in the province of Pisa, where she continued to paint until her last years. In 1993, together with the Associazione culturale La Ginestra and other villagers, she contributed to the founding of the Biblioteca Comunale di Vecchiano, conceived as «a place of cultural gathering and a point of reference for the whole community». The collection began with the «Dona un libro alla biblioteca» campaign; in 1994 the writer Antonio Tabucchi donated the first nucleus of his personal archive. The library was named after Tabucchi on 25 September 2012.
Works for the community
She painted for the community on celebrations and local festivities: works for the Parrocchia di San Frediano in Vecchiano and for other public occasions.
Exhibitions, recognitions
She took part in painting reviews and exhibitions, receiving prizes and mentions, cups and plaques later at the mercy of her son Stefano, who as a child would take them apart and put them back together while playing.
In 2017 the Comune di Vecchiano organised a solo exhibition for her, in the room adjacent to the Sala Consiliare, during the Spring Fair. Her works have continued to appear in the group shows of the area in the years that followed.
For Olivia
In her last years she drew for her beloved granddaughter Olivia, telling her and showing her strokes, colours and lights.
Now she is among her beloved sunflowers.