Rediscovering the Fishing Cycle of Umberto Coromaldi

Abstract

The paper reports on the discovery and restoration of the pictorial cycle made by Umberto Coromaldi (Rome, 1870-1948) for the external decoration of the Fishing Pavilion at the International Exposition in Rome of 1911, composed by large oil on canvas depicting fishing scenes and nudes of fishermen. After the event, with the demolition of the pavilion, the whole cycle was eventually forgotten: the largest canvases were rolled and for decades left in a series of deposits. Rediscovered in 2004, the paintings were in extremely poor condition. For their recovery, the Istituto Centrale per il Restauro (ICR) undertook a complex conservation program and a parallel research project to clarify the Coromaldi painting technique, the exhibition context, the history of the paintings and the figure of the artist himself, an artist soon forgotten after his death but whose value can now finally be recognised.