Figure 1.-- This is Onofrio Tomaselli's painting of the Siclian boy sulphuur miners working under horific conditions--'I Carusi' an important 20th century Italian painting. Carusi was the plural of a Roman word for boy, but by the 19th century meant boy mine workers.

Onofrio Tomaselli was the inspiration for several generations of Sicilian painters. Tomaselli was born in Bagheria (1856). He grew up in Palermo. He completed appretiships under Palermo artists. The Palermo municipal government provided a scholarship to study (1884-86). He was a genre artist painting realistic scenesm, seeking to represent 'truth'. Tomaselli's major influnce was Domenico Morelli, a major figure in Sicilian art. He participatred in the 'forbidden pictorial compositions' at the Institute of Fine Arts of Naples (1886) He then married Emilia Glaudi, daughter of the Marquis of Tagliavia (1887). Some of the artists influenced by Tomaselli were Alfonso Amorelli and Renato Guttuso, another painter from Bagheria considered Tomaselli's instructiion as the inspiration for the production of 'La Zolfara' (volcanic sufur mine). An observerr writes, "It is the light-filled mountain pass of a Sicilian sulfur mine, the theater of social shame with which the humanists of one day so vainly occupied themselves; where the youngest creatures wear themselves out in a work that consumes mind and body...." Tomaselli painted 'I Carusi' an important 20th century Italian painting. Carusi was the plural for a Roman word for boy, but by the 19th century meant boy mine workers. He presented it at the Universal Exhibition in Milan (1906). He was associated with the Maison de la culture» which addressed issues of the day such as child labir.

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Created: 7:34 PM 11/30/2022
Last updated: 7:34 PM 11/30/2022