Tullia Socin: A Forgotten Female Artist Rediscovered

Tullia Socin (Bolzano, 1907–1995) was a painter who struggled to carve out her own artistic identity while married to sculptor Enrico Carmassi. Born into the Fidel Socin musical instrument family, she was inspired by a portrait of her grandfather Fedele painted by Albert Stolz. After studies at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia under Virgilio Guidi and Vincenzo Bellotto, Guidi praised her as a "true, authentic, acute artistic temperament." Unlike Guidi's geometric abstraction, Socin pursued measured psychological introspection. In 1932 she visited Paris, where she likely saw André Derain's work and painted "Donna che legge," influenced by New Objectivity. In 1934 she studied fresco technique with Giulio Bargellini in Rome. During the 1930s she produced high-quality works such as "Bagnante" (1935) and "Lo Scolaro" (1936), showing affinities with Albin Egger Lienz and Gino Pancheri, as well as Impressionists Renoir and Cézanne. She exhibited in syndical shows organized by the Fascist Syndicate of Fine Arts, avoiding political subjects. In 1933 she met Carmassi in La Spezia, marrying him eleven years later. After 1941 she evacuated to Val di Non due to WWII. Post-marriage she moved to Turin, abandoning realist painting to collaborate with her husband on ceramic sculptures and bas-reliefs. Her early work is now being re-evaluated by the Fondazione Socin.