Pierino Delvò

Drawings

Contacts

Links

Cyanotypes

 

My interest in nature and drawing dates back to my childhood but I began drawing botanical subjects early in the nineties, although occasional small pieces were made long before.

As an optical engineer, I worked in a research centre near Milano in the field of Optical Interferometry and Holography; natural phenomena documentation and astrophotography were pastimes for many years. Now Botanical Drawing takes most of my free time.


As in the long time tradition of Botanical Drawing, the plates are made using watercolour on pure cotton paper.


My preferred subjects are the poor herbs you can find around in the fields. Sometimes, even the grace of a single stem deserves a plate.


The pictures in this website were obtained from negatives or slides, only recently by digital imaging. Please allow for some non uniform quality or tonal rendition. For some there is a note.


I can’t tell why I draw plants.  Simply, when I work on a plate I feel an intimate and deep respect for Nature and its beauty.


I’m also interested in some alternative photographic techniques, especially the Cyanotype process,

where the resulting deep blue is due to the reaction of some iron salts to ultraviolet light. Again, the subjects are collected in the realm of Flora. You can see some Cyanotype prints in the dedicated page.

EXHIBITIONS


  1. -The Royal Horticultural Society Westminster Flower Show, London, 1998

  2. -Mostra Nazionale di pittura e disegni botanici, Lucca, 1998.

  3. -Fiori in Posa, FAI, Monastero di Torba, (VA), 1999.

  4. -Fiori in Posa, 2a ed., FAI, Castello di Masino,(TO), 2000.

  5. -10th International Exhibition of Botanical Art & Illustration, Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 2001.

  6. -Il Serto di Flora, Rotary Club, Palazzo Doria –De Fornari, Genova, 2001.

  7. -Italian Botanical Art Today, Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Washington D.C., 2001.

  8. -Nel Regno delle Piante, Museo di Storia Naturale, Bergamo, 2002.

  9. -Nel Segno di Flora, Novi Ligure, 2004.

  10. -Floraviva, Pittura Botanica Contemporanea, Spazio Klien, Borgo Valsugana, (TN) e Museo Tridentino di Scienze Naturali, Trento, 2005.

  11. -Arte e Natura al Museo, Museo Bagatti-Valsecchi, Milano, 2006.

  12. -Imago Plantae, Complesso Monumentale di S. Sofia, Salerno, 2007.

  13. -Cittadella in fiore. Pittura botanica nel segno della biodiversità, Cittadella di Alessandria,  2011

  14. -Arte Botanica nel Terzo Millennio, Museo della Grafica, Palazzo Lanfranchi, Pisa, 2013

  15. -Arte botanica in Italia oggi, Orto Botanico di Padova, 2013

  16. -Botanical Art in the 21st Century, The Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art, London, 2014

  17. -Le Piante e l’Uomo, acquerelli botanici e racconti, Bergamo, Orto Botanico, Sala Viscontea; Milano, FAI, La Cavallerizza; Pisa, Museo della Grafica, 2015-2016

  18. -Flora, il Gusto della Bellezza - disegni botanici e cianotipi, Villa Carlotta, Tremezzo, Como, 2016





AWARDS


Gold Medal, The Royal Horticultural Society, London, 1998




COLLECTIONS


  1. -The Shirley Sherwood Collection, London

  2. -Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, U.S.A.

  3. -Museo della Grafica, Palazzo Lanfranchi, Pisa

  4. -Private collections

In the background: Smilax aspera - cm 30x24 - 1997