Carlo Sbisà: The Forgotten Painter from Trieste

Carlo Sbisà (1899-1964), a painter from Trieste, has been largely forgotten despite a career that included exhibitions at the Venice Biennale and associations with the Novecento movement. Born to humble parents, he studied art in Trieste and Florence, worked as a draftsman in Monfalcone, and traveled to Budapest, Vienna, and New York. He debuted at the Venice Biennale in 1922 with a black-and-white portrait on paper. In 1925 he received his first religious commissions: an altarpiece for a church in Rovigo and two paintings of St. Francis of Assisi. In 1927 he held his first solo exhibition at Galleria Michelazzi in Trieste, introduced by Italo Svevo. He shared a studio with Leonor Fini and Arturo Nathan. In 1929 he joined the Novecento movement and exhibited at the Seconda mostra del Novecento italiano in Milan, promoted by Margherita Sarfatti. He later showed at Galleria del Milione in 1931 but with little success. In the 1930s he focused on public works, including frescoes for the Casa del combattente (1934-35) and the Assicurazioni Generali building (1937), with subjects tied to the Fascist regime. The death of his friend Arturo Nathan in Biberach concentration camp in 1944 led to a crisis and his abandonment of painting in the early 1950s. His masterpieces are now held at the Museo Revoltella in Trieste.