AN ARCHIVE, A CATALOGUE
The Cristoforo De Amicis Archive (ACDA) was established in 1987, shortly after the painter's death, to help define Cristoforo De Amicis's place in the artistic movements that shaped his career, from 1924 to 1987.
Over the years, the Archive has preserved artworks, objects and books, and collected and organised valuable original materials, including critical and bibliographical sources and extensive photographic documentation of the works.
It has also recorded and catalogued 1,713 paintings and 1,252 works on paper, all of which are included in the General Catalogue.
The materials have been organised in a single digital database, bringing together catalogue records, bibliographical references, exhibition history and photographic documentation.
The Archive is also carrying out an ongoing digitisation of all the paper materials in its collection.
The Archive has also published:
- In 1988, the catalogue Le vetrate di Cristoforo De Amicis, edited by Elena Introzzi with a critical essay by Ernesto Brivio, was published in two editions by the Centro Comunale di Cultura di Valenza and the Department of Culture of the Municipality of Alessandria;
- In 1997, the volume De Amicis-Bogliardi. Carteggio di due pittori 1945-1952, with an introductory essay by Vittorio Fagone, was published by Ferrari Editrice di Clusone;
- In 2003, the Catalogo Generale delle opere di Cristoforo De Amicis, edited by Elena Introzzi and Piero De Amicis with an introductory essay by Vittorio Fagone, was published by Ferrari Editrice di Clusone.
The Archive has organised three solo exhibitions:
- 1988/89: Le vetrate di Cristoforo De Amicis in Valenza at the Centro Comunale di Cultura, and later in Alessandria at Palazzo Cuttica;
- 1997: Il senso religioso di Cristoforo De Amicis at the Duomo Museum in Milan;
- 1997/98: Cristoforo De Amicis at the Museum of Modern Art in Gazoldo degli Ippoliti.
With the aim of creating a unified body of works, it donated:
- to the Duomo Museum in Milan, preparatory drawings for the stained-glass windows of Constantine the Great and the Cathedral's cupola (1997);
- to the Milan Chamber of Commerce, three preparatory sketches for the Grande Vetrata (1988);
- to the Accademia Carrara, Still Life, winner of the 4th Bergamo Prize in 1942.
The Archive also loaned the painting Figure to the MAM in Gazoldo degli Ippoliti and donated paintings for exhibitions organised by public institutions.
It has worked with public bodies, private organisations and galleries, lending works for group and solo exhibitions.
In 2016, the Archive's entire collection of documentation was permanently transferred, free of charge, to APICE (Archives of Word, Image and Editorial Communication). It includes writings and manuscripts, photographs in various formats, prints, publications and other paper documents relating to De Amicis's artistic activity from the late 1930s to 1987.