Carmelo Floris
Carmelo Floris - Daniela Spoto 2023, © CCIAA NU

Carmelo Floris

Carmelo Floris (b. Bono, 22 July 1891–d. Olzai, 22 August 1960) was an Italian painter and engraver.

He moved to Rome to study at the Fine Arts Academy, where he became friends with Melkiorre Melis. The two shared a flat and attended courses at the Scuola Libera del Nudo (a life-drawing school) and the French Academy.

Carmelo Floris at the press in his studio in Olzai, 1959
Carmelo Floris at the press in his studio in Olzai, 1959 - © E. Piras - Archivio Ilisso
Carmelo Floris, Sant'Anastasio di Olzai, oil on cardboard
Carmelo Floris, Sant'Anastasio di Olzai, oil on cardboard - © Archivio Ilisso

At the end of World War I, Floris returned to Sardegna, settling in Olzai. For the first few months, he travelled around the Barbagia region with the painter Mario Delitala, devoting himself to studying the island landscape.

Carmelo Floris, Al poeta della Barbagia, 1924, woodcut from Frontiera
Carmelo Floris, Al poeta della Barbagia, 1924, woodcut from Frontiera - © Archivio Ilisso

During this period, he developed his interest in woodcut, also experimenting with monotype and then chalcography, becoming one of the leading exponents of Sardinian printmaking during the first half of the century.

In the 1920s, he participated in numerous exhibitions, including the exhibition of the Catholic University Club in 1921, the First National Art Biennale in Rome in 1923 , the Turin Quadriennale and the 91st Fine Arts Exhibition of the Amateurs and Enthusiasts Society of Rome in 1923 and the first Exposition of Sardinian Art in Cagliari in 1924. In 1925, at the invitation of Francesco Ciusa, he began teaching drawing at the School of Applied Arts in Oristano, keeping the post until 1927.

Carmelo Floris, Settimana Santa
Carmelo Floris, Settimana Santa - © Archivio Ilisso

In the 1930s, Floris expanded his artistic range to include landscapes and participated in various national and regional exhibitions. While in Paris in 1938, he was arrested for possession of propagandistic material and sentenced to five years of prison. After the amnesty of 1942, he returned to Sardinia and continued to display his work. In 1947, he participated in exhibitions in Rome, Turin and Cagliari, and in 1949 he took part in various exhibitions in Italy and abroad.

Carmelo Floris, portrait by Sebastiano Satta
Carmelo Floris, portrait by Sebastiano Satta - © Archivio Ilisso

During the 1950s, he worked with Giovanni Ciusa Romagna on the Via Crucis for the cathedral of Nuoro. He displayed his work regularly and held various solo shows, the last of which was in Florence in 1960.

Olzai, Carmelo Floris house museum and art gallery
Olzai, Carmelo Floris house museum and art gallery - © CCIAA NU

Some of his work may be seen in his house in Olzai, which is now a museum.