Giovanni Nonnis
Giovanni Nonnis - Daniela Spoto 2022, © CCIAA NU

Giovanni Nonnis

Giovanni Nonnis (b. 22 May 1929, Nuoro–d. 24 February 1975, Nuoro) was an Italian painter.

His experimental path as an artist was influenced by Giuseppe Biasi and Pietro Antonio Manca.

Giovanni Nonnis
Giovanni Nonnis - CC BY 3.0 Comune di Cagliari - https://www.comune.cagliari.it/portale/page/it/vittorio_sgarbi_presenta_a_cagliari_la_monografia_dedicata_al_pittore_nuorese_giovanni_nonnis?contentId=NVT161936
Giovanni Nonnis, Branco di cavalli, mixed media on paper, 1968
Giovanni Nonnis, Branco di cavalli, mixed media on paper, 1968 - © Pierluigi Dessì, confinivisivi - Museo MAN - https://www.museoman.it/it/museo/collezione/opera/Branco-di-cavalli/

His work is characterised by an archaising style that looks to the nuraghic world. Rooted in the ancient traditions of the Barbagia region, his paintings portray a primitive dream world through symbols representing the absolute and details marked by a barbarian and ancestral style.

Giovanni Nonnis, Guerriero, oil and golden tempera, 1965-70
Giovanni Nonnis, Guerriero, oil and golden tempera, 1965-70 - © Pierluigi Dessì, confinivisivi - Museo MAN - https://www.museoman.it/it/museo/collezione/opera/Guerriero/

Nonnis combined the rocky landscape of Nuoro with the aesthetic and cultural traditions of the Barbagia region, transmitting a sense of chaos and spirit of place, as well as a vision of primitive humankind.

Giovanni Nonnis, La moglie incinta e il cavallo, tempera on cardboard, 1962
Giovanni Nonnis, La moglie incinta e il cavallo, tempera on cardboard, 1962 - © Pierluigi Dessì, confinivisivi - Museo MAN - https://www.museoman.it/it/museo/collezione/opera/La-moglie-incinta-e-il-cavallo/