Naïve painter Antonio Ligabue has often been compared to other famous untrained artists like Henri Rousseau and Vincent van Gogh. Like them, Ligabue developed a special affinity with the natural world. While living a life between nervous breakdowns and psychiatric wards, he produced an incredible body of work ranging from imaginary orientalist themes to realistically raw representations of his beloved countryside in Emilia Romagna. This lecture reconsiders Ligabue’s paintings of animals as a form of empathy with the natural world rather than the tired mental illness cliché celebrated by art historians. Presented by Dr. Giovanni Aloi, Art Historian, Educator, and Curator.

Dr. Giovanni Aloi is an author, educator, and curator specializing in the representation of nature in art. He has published with Columbia University Press, Phaidon, MIT, Laurence King, and Prestel. He has contributed to BBC radio programs, worked at Whitechapel Art Gallery and Tate Galleries in London, is USA correspondent for Esse Magazine, and a regular public speaker at the Art Institute of Chicago. Aloi has curated exhibitions in the US and Europe. He currently teaches modern and contemporary art at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Sotheby’s Institute of Art New York and London.

Register for the online Webinar at this link.