Cannobio: A portrait painter at court

The artist Edmondo Albertella “ Pinsart “ reproposes his works of foreshortened landscapes paintings.

Cannobio , the village has never been so beautiful.

In the paintings of Edmondo Albertella, alias “ Pinsart “ foreshortened landscapes of the last village before the Swiss border, sparkle with their own light thanks to the sobriety , precision and skilled use of his brush .
A “ Pinsart “ painting is life , no it is a reason for life .
“ There are two “ he says , sitting behind his desk in his small Art Studio in the centre of the village” There are two reason for my life . Art and my granddaughter Letizia “.

Formed by then prestigious School of Art and Trade of Cannobio , afterwards in one of the last Art Studios in Milan and under the attentive guide of Mario Albertella.
Edmondo Albertella seems to be one of the last artists left who has a profound knowledge of art as such.
I am adverse to some modern forms of art . “ Today “ he sustains citing Montale “ originality is preferred to beauty “ . And there are some works where it is absurd to say they are works of art a work of art must emit emotion , some only serve to make fun of people .

According to Albertella art had to deal with daily situations on the limits of the mercenary art , like earnings , where he beauty or the value of the painting is decided by the merchants .
To the antipode of this philosophy his paintings cornice landscapes of Cannobio , still life , faces and expressions , reproductions of renowned work of art .
Speaking of this we ask him if painting reproductions provokes emotion . “ Reproducing someone else’s work “ he says “ teaches me a lot , I can understand how that artist painted , how he used colours “ . Meanwhile , behind him , a Matisse of esteemed workmanship does not go unnoticed .
There must be an artist that “ Pinsart “ would love to reproduce more than anyone else ? “ One day I hope to reproduce Van Gog , my favourite . However, I don’t feel ready for this “ .

What do the people want when they visi t his studio ? They like the foreshortened landscapes of Cannobio . Above all , the holiday makers often like to take a landscape of Cannobio home .
As far as this is concerned there is only the embarrassmen of choice , thanks to a very rich catalogue . In fact , Edmondo Albertella “ Pinsart “ , has been painting assiduously and continues his line in this art which could appear anachronistic .

“ My paintings “ he says , can be defined as old fashioned . If it true that art today , as he himself defines it is pure cynicism , we can only but approve his choice .
To conclude , there is time for only one more question : “ Is art dead ? “ “ NO “ . Maybe it has only been a little ill-treated “ .

Article on the Eco Risveglio 19 Dec 2002

Alberto Bastianini