Michele Tripisciano (13 July 1860 – 21 September 1913) was an Italian sculptor.
He was born in Caltanissetta, the son of the potter Ferdinando Tripisciano and Calogera Falci. He started modelling clay when he was a child in his father's jags factory and in 1873 he was sent to study in Rome at the St Michael Ospice thanks to the involvement of the baron Guglielmo Luigi Lanzirotti and Mr Pugliese. Between 1880 and 1888 he worked with Francesco Fabi Altini and in 1884 he obtained the silver medal at the Accademia di San Luca for his work Caio Mario sulle rovine di Cartagine (Gaius Marius on the ruins of Carthage).
He lived in Rome for many years and then returned to his home town when he died at the age of 53 because of a bronchopneumonia.
Tripisciano opened his own sculpting workshop and created mythic sculptures getting inspiration from both religious and historical subjects. He got orders for churches and memorials and after winning some competitions he worked on international basis.
A museum dedicated to Tripisciano (Museo Tripisciano), located in the Palazzo Moncada on Largo Barile in Caltanissetta, displays many works, mostly stucco models, from the sculptor donated to the town. Among these is a work in marble, Orfeo. This work is different from the previous ones from the same author because of the particular introspective analysis on the subject.[1]
Franco Spena,Michele Tripisciano Archivio Nisseno Anno VII - N. 12 Gennaio-Giugno 2013 Ed. Società Nissena di Storia Patria Caltanissetta 2012 p. 30-179 ISSN 1974-3416
Calogero Scarlata, Pittura-Scultura-Arti Minori- Dizionario degli artisti presenti a Caltanissetta e nei Comuni della sua Provincia, Edizione Lussografica di Caltanissetta 1999
Daniela Vullo, Progetto Scuola Città. Schedatura delle emergenze architettoniche di Caltanissetta, Regione Siciliana, Assessorato regionale dei beni Culturali ed Ambientali e della Pubblica Istruzione, Dipartimento Regionale Beni Culturali, Ambientali ed Educazione Permanente, Area Soprintendenza per i Beni Culturali ed Ambientali di Caltanissetta 2005
Walter Guttadauria, Viaggio nell’arte di Rosone tra mostri, fontane, vescovi e anche madonne "brutte", La Sicilia 5 aprile 2009
Walter Guttadauria, Ricerca di identità perdute per non dimenticare i personaggi del passato, La Sicilia 24 maggio 2009
External links
AA.VV. "Michele Tripisciano". Società Nissena di Storia Patria - Caltanissetta. Retrieved 22 September 2013.