Antonio Ligabue (December 18, 1899 – May 27, 1965) original name Antonio Laccabue, son of Elisabetta Costa, originally from Belluno, and presumably by Bonfiglio Laccabue (the true identity of the father is still unknown), originally from Reggio Emilia. In 1942 the painter changed his surname from Laccabue to Ligabue, presumably due to hatred towards his father. In September 1900 he was entrusted to the Swiss Johannes Valentin Göbel and Elise Hanselmann. His mother Elizabeth and three brothers died in 1913 as a result of food poisoning. He started working occasionally as a farmer and led a life of wandering. After an altercation with his adoptive mother he was admitted to a psychiatric clinic. In 1920 he was offered a job on the banks of the Po, at which time he began to paint. In 1928 he met Renato Marino Mazzacurati who understood what true art was and taught him the use of oil paints guiding him to the full development of his talent. In those years he devoted himself to painting and continued to wander aimlessly along the river Po. In 1937 he was hospitalized in a psychiatric hospital in Reggio Emilia for self-mutilation. In 1941 the sculptor Andrea Mozzali discharged him from the psychiatric hospital and welcomed him into his home in Guastalla, near Reggio Emilia. During the war he served as an interpreter for the German troops. In 1945, after beating a German soldier with a bottle, he was interned in a psychiatric hospital and remained there for three years. In 1961 his first solo exhibition was held at The Gallery Four Rivers in Rome. He later had a motorcycle accident and was stricken with paralysis the following year.
Investment value ⭐️⭐️⭐️ due to the lack of availability on the market of the most important works, such as portraits and certain animal scenes that have long since entered private and public collections. In fact, the latter reach very important figures ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
To signal the exhibition held in Parma from 2 April to 27 December 2020, where it will be possible to admire what more Ligabue has achieved.
How much is his work worth?
Some awards from recent years (2020/2016)
self portrait, 1960/61 – Oil/canvas (69,8 x 49,8 cm'
Hammer price: €280.000 Price including charges: €349.100 Estimate: €12.000 – €18.000 Pandolfini Casa d'Aste, 29/10/2019Milan, Italy
Signed lower right Notes: M. Dall'Acqua, Ligabue, Milan 1978, p. 56. S. Negri, Antonio Ligabue, catalog raisonné of paintings, Milan 2002, p. 353 no. 437. Tutto Ligabue, catalog raisonné of the works, edited by A. Agosta Tota and M. Dall'Acqua, Parma 2005, n. 379Origin: Parma, private collection Rovereto, private collectionExposure: Antonio Ligabue, Galleria Barcaccia, Rome, February 1961. Antonio Ligabue, Galleria Gianferrari, Milan, July 1961. Antonio Ligabue towards the centenary, Palazzo Salmatoris, Cherasco, October – December 1998.
Without title, 1959/60 – Oil/canvas (50 x 70 cm)
Clearing price: €51.000 Estimate: €45.000 – €55.000 Galleria Pananti Casa d'Aste, 14/06/2019 Florence, Italy
Signed
I work in the fields – Oil/panel (25,5 x 35 cm)
Clearing price: €22.000 Price including charges: €26.840 Starting price: €9.000 Estimate: €18.000 – €24.000 Casa d'Aste Capitolium, 09/04/2019Brescia BS, Italy
Origin: Private collection, NovaraExposure: Antonio Ligabue anthological exhibition for the 15th anniversary of his death, Palazzo dell'arengario, Milan, 28 November 1980 -11 January 1981
Flowers at the window – Oil/canvas (60 x 40 cm)
Clearing price: €46.000 Estimate: €20.000 – €30.000 Minerva Auctions, 19/04/2018 Rome, Italy
Signed lower rightOrigin: Raffaele Andreassi Collection; Private collection,Exposure: Gualtieri, Antonio Ligabue's Anthology, Palazzo Bentivoglio, May - June 1975.
Landscape – Oil/panel (24,8 x 29,3 cm)
Clearing price: €17.000 Estimate: €5.000 – €8.000 Farsetti, 02/12/2017Prato PO, Italy. Origin: Private collection.
Setter dog in post, 1952/62 – Oil/isorel (27,2 x 40 cm)
Clearing price: €26.000 Price including charges: €32.240 Estimate: €20.000 – €30.000 Wannenes, 09/06/2016Milan, Italy
Signed lower right
