Silpa Bhirasri

Silpa Bhirasri

Silpa Bhirasri ( Thai ศิลป์ พี ระ ศรี , RTGS : Sin Phirasi, pronunciation: [ sĭn pʰiːráʔsĭː ]; maiden name Corrado Feroci ; born September 15, 1892 in Florence , Italy; † May 14, 1962 in Bangkok ) is the father of modern art in Thailand . He founded the country's first art college, which was later upgraded to Silpakorn University .

Life

Silpa Bhirasri in his studio.

Silpa in his uniform as a Thai government official.

He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts ( Accademia di Belle Arti ) in Florence in 1914 . He then taught sculpture at the academy and became known as the creator of war memorials. In 1924 the Fine Arts Department invited him to Thailand to teach Western sculpture. As dean of the Faculty of Sculpture and Painting at the Art School , he was the mainstay and driving force behind art studies in Thailand. Feroci himself was internationally recognized as an authority on Thai art.

From the 1930s on, he created numerous monumental statues and sculptures in the style of Italian fascism on behalf of Field Marshal Phibunsongkhram's nationalist government .

To avoid capture by the Japanese during World War II, he changed his name and became a Thai citizen.

He died in Bangkok in 1962. He was posthumously awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown of Thailand for his achievements and merits for Thai art . September 15th, his birthday, is his memory in many parts of the country.

Works

His most famous works include:

• the statue of King Phra Phutthayotfa Chulalok (Rama I.) at the Phra Phutthayotfa Bridge (Memorial Bridge) in Bangkok,
• the statue of King Vajiravudh (Rama VI.) in front of the entrance of the Lumphini Park in Bangkok,
• the statue of the standing Buddha in Phutthamonthon Park near Nakhon Pathom,
• the statue of King Naresuan by Don Chedi ( Suphan Buri province ) commemorating the battle of Nong Sarai against the Burmese,
• the relief sculptures at the Democracy Monument on Ratchadamnoen Klang Avenue in Bangkok.
• the statues at the Victory Monument in Ratchathewi District

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  Statue of Phra Phutthayotfa Chulalok (Rama I.)

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  Statue of King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) at Lumphini Park

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  Buddha statue in Phutthamonthon Park

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  Naresuan Monument in Don Chedi

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  Statue of Thao Suranari in Nakhon Ratchasima

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  Statues at the Victory Monument

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  Relief on the democracy monument: "Representation of balance and a good life"

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  Relief on the democracy monument: "Representation of the people"

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  Relief on the democracy monument: "Soldiers fight for democracy"

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  Statue of King Narai in Lop Buri

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  King Taksin Monument in Wongwian Yai, Thonburi

literature

• Oscar Nalesini, L'Asia Sud-orientale nella cultura italiana. Bibliografia analitica ragionata, 1475-2005 . Roma, Istituto Italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente, 2009 (most of Bhirasri's works are p. 292-316) ISBN 978-88-6323-284-4 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Apinan Poshyananda: Modern Art in Thailand. Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. Oxford University Press, 1992, p. 34.
2. ^ Reverie and Phantasm in the Epoch of Global Trauma. In: Dreams and conflicts. The dictatorship of the viewer. La Biennale di Venezia. 50th international art exhibition. 2003, p. 598.
3. ^ Herbert P. Phillips: The Integrative Art of Modern Thailand. Lowie Museum of Anthropology, University of California at Berkeley, 1992, p. 6.

Web links

Commons : Silpa Bhirasri  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Online gallery Rama9 with images of many works by Prof. Bhirasri (English)
• Detailed curriculum vitae on the website of the Silpakorn Kunsthochschule ( memento of March 8, 2001 in the Internet Archive ) (English)

Note on Thai names : This article addresses people by their first name.