Gabriele Mucchi

Gabriele Mucchi (Turin, 1899 – Milan, 2002) was an Italian painter.

Self Portrait with Basque Beret

After graduating in engineering at Bologna University in 1923, Gabriele Mucchi abandoned the profession to devote himself to painting, following in the footsteps of his father Anton Maria. In 1926 he moved to Milan and the following year he exhibited with the Novecento Italiano group. He also launched on a career as an illustrator thanks to his collaboration with the writers Achille Campanile (Ma che cos’è questo amore, 1927) and Cesare Zavattini (Parliamo tanto di me, 1931 and I poveri sono matti, 1937). He participated in the Esposizioni Internazionali d’Arte di Venezia from 1930 onwards and in the 5th and 6th Milan Triennale with paintings and decorative panels in 1933 and 1936. 

An intellectual with anti-Fascist ideas he was a sympathiser of the Corrente movement and in 1943 he joined the Val d'Ossola partisans by enrolling in the 186ª Brigata Garibaldi. At the end of the war he returned to Milan and expressed his civil commitment in works in an overtly Realist style. He also continued to work in the field of architecture, which he had begun to do in the 1930s. In 1947 he participated in the housing project for the QT8 area in Milan, for which he also designed furniture and these designs were shown in the 8th Milan Triennale that same year. In 1956 he was invited to teach painting at the Academy in East Berlin, where he spent a long time in subsequent years. 

He continued to hold exhibitions both in Germany and Italy, and to pursue his career as a decorator and illustrator, which was crowned by the 1967 publication in Italy of Voltaire’s Candido.