Pierre Bosco, descendant of the famous Della Rovere family, was born on January 29, 1909 in Visco, the province of Udine in Italy where he grows up with his seven siblings. 

  At an early age, he develops an interest in art, probably by contemplating at the local church frescoes or religious scenes on the houses’ facades - symbols of popular piety in Italy. When he was eight, his mother buys him a box of paints during a trip to Trieste, a gift that will be decisive, according to him, for his career. At seventeen he earns some money by restoring a Flight into Egypt, a fresco damaged by the storm, and Madonnas on the walls, according to his country’s ancestral traditions. 

His father had imagined for the young Pietro a career as an officer of the merchant marine, and thus encouraged him to study to become a telegraph operator officer. He enrolls for his military service in Sardinia as a telegraph officer. His lack of motivation for his studies and ever growing interest for paintings takes him to Genoa and then Rome where he becomes a paintings conservator, learning the secret techniques of the great masters of Art. His early works already show a natural sensitivity to color and a willingness to give volume to images, which will become his artistic signature.

When he first discovers paintings of Cézanne, Pissarro, Gauguin and Rouault, he is convinced that his future is in Paris, where the “bohemian" lifestyle attracts painters and sculptors from around the world.

Pierre Bosco, around 1929.

Bosco in his studio in Saint-Germain en Laye.

In 1957, Bosco is well known to the affluent elite of the French capital. He appears in numerous laudatory articles written by famous poets like Pierre Seghers, Jean Cocteau and Marcel Sauvage - who will dedicate a poem to him – including the French poet and novelist Henri Bosco, and the journalist and writer Louis Nucéra.

  Bosco’s works of art stands among those of the biggest names in contemporary painting: Chagall, Braque, Picasso, Matisse, etc. This collaboration opens new doors to him: he participates in radio shows; his paintings enter permanent collections of museums. Once introduced to the American Jewish community, Bosco attracts financiers, lawyers, actors and film producers.

The exhibition at the Matarasso Gallery in Nice attests to his success in Paris. In 1958 more shows are organized in Clermont-Ferrand, Strasbourg and La Baule in the famous casino. This new fame comes with increasing demand from Alex Maguy to produce more paintings that are best sellers. These demands are not quite in line with his personal aspirations and style. As a result, Bosco decides to limit his production and, in 1959, the 15-year contract is terminated.

  That same year, the Marquis de Langle, an art collector, organizes an exhibition at the Galerie Di Meo in Paris, gathering writers, diplomats and high-ranking officers. On this occasion Bosco meets his Royal Highness the Prince of Greece and the Duke of Broglie. In 1960, the artist marries Madeleine Poire and both travel to New York for their honeymoon and to attend a major exhibition at the Norval Gallery where all his usual collectors have gathered for the occasion. The New York Herald Tribune praises the event. Thanks to this success the painter extends his honeymoon in the Northeastern United States. After his return from the US, from January 28 to February 16, 1961, the Athénée museum in Geneva devotes a major exhibition to him. This is also the year that his first son Pierre Luca was born.

  Private collectors are eager to acquire his paintings, including Joseph H. Hirshhorn, a wealthy American industrialist and art collector. Bosco’s paintings are also found in the private collection of celebrities such as Kirk Douglas – who acquired seven paintings (among them an Harlequin and a Regatta), Robert Mitchum, Jack Palance, Lord Beaverbrook (Sir Winston Churchill’s friend and confident), former French President Georges Pompidou, as well as singers and sportsmen.

  In 1959 Bosco meets Yves Thomas, owner of the gallery La Belle Gabrielle, located close to the Place du Tertre in Montmartre, with whom he would immediately befriends. A tacit agreement between the two men will seal their collaboration for 30 years during which Bosco is committed to deliver four paintings per month illustrating popular themes such as cathedrals, cockfights, cyclists and horse races.

  Far from mainstream trends, Bosco prepares a major solo exhibition in 1963 that is a great success. On this occasion several newspapers such as Le Figaro, Libération, l’Humanité and Paris-Presse publish laudatory articles. In the literary magazine Carrefour, the author states: "The savage art of Bosco bear its rudeness and its mystery. It is an art of pure expression that is not made to please, of course, but whose sincerity cannot do anything but capture your attention ».

Similarly, in Les Lettres Françaises literary magazine, it is written that "Bosco's paintings are filled with a mysterious atmosphere, a tragic expressionism”. This year also marks the birth of his second son, Marc Antoine.

In 1964 he exhibits at the Max Bodner gallery in New York; his paintings are presented among those of Marie Laurencin, Picasso, Signac, Pissarro, Renoir and Rouault. From At the end of April, he exhibits at the Galerie du Carlton in Cannes. The following year, he presents forty recent works at the Wamper Gallery in Cologne (Germany). In April 1967 Bosco is awarded the Silver Medal of the City of Paris and in June he is made Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres (a distinguished award from the French Ministry of Culture). Stéphane, his third son, was born that year. The end of the decade is marked by European exhibitions at the Gallery Il Tibbio in Trieste (Italy) and at the Corner Gallery in London. In 1971 he holds a major exhibition at the gallery La Belle Gabrielle.

   The new decade is marked by a group exhibition at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris on the theme of "Jesus Christ" that leads to an eulogistic article in the newspaper La Croix and various solo exhibitions in Metz, Paris (Capangela and La Belle Gabrielle galleries), Versailles (Galerie Grand Siècle), Cannes (Galerie of European Painters) and Denmark at the Schack Gallery in Tordenskjoldsgade.

He is now internationally renowned; in 1979 a traveling exhibition makes a triumphant success in Dallas, Houston and San Francisco with 38 paintings and 10 gouaches mainly on the theme of sport. In 1981 Bosco travels to Ireland, Rhodes, the United States and Mexico where he truly appreciates its archaeological richness. More than anything he values the cultural diversity that is a source of inspirations for generating new ideas and new forms.

The following year he receives the Diploma of Merit from the University of Art in Florence. Two solo exhibitions are presented that year at the Vera Museum in Saint-Germain-en-Laye and at the Galerie de la Colonne, Place Vendôme in Paris. In 1985, the artist exhibits at the Gallery Göran Svensson in Stockholm and several other cities in Scandinavia.

  In early 1986, the artist creates a mural, a car race, in the lobby of the Bendix Research Plant in Drancy. In the fall of 1986, he exhibits four paintings in the Hippodrome of Longchamp for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, the French prestigious horse race.

  Despite his real aversion to leave his studio, Bosco travels to the West Indies in March 1988. On this occasion he produced a series of sketches.

  During the summer of 1988 a serious accident plunges him into a coma. He is hospitalized for two months. In November, a solo exhibition at the Château of Maisons-Laffitte shows 30 paintings, 24 gouaches and pastels covering more than a quarter century of work. Nearly 300 people attend this unique evening.

  Pierre Bosco dies on March 3, 1993 at the age of 83. He is buried at Saint-Germain-en-Laye Cemetery.

  A prolific artist – over his career Bosco has made more than 6000 paintings, not to mention the innumerable works on paper: pastels, gouaches, watercolors and drawings. Pierre Bosco occupies a privileged place among American and European collectors, particularly in France and Italy, but also in Scandinavian countries. His works are also found in the permanent collections of museums: Museum of the City of Paris, Tel Aviv (Israel), Caramulo (Portugal), Beaverbrook Art Gallery (NB, Canada) and the United States (Toledo Museum of Art, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington DC)

Bosco is awarded the Silver Medal of the city of Paris

Bosco reçoit la Médaille d’argent de la Ville de Paris

   He finally gains success and recognition in the fifties. He creates in Saint-Germain-en-Laye the Independent Painters’ Association (API) which gathers painters like Jean Souverbie, Roger Chastel, the Vera brothers, Clave, Gomery and Edoardo Samartino.  After participating in the first Biennale del Mare in Genoa, he exhibits his work at the Gallery Vivet in Paris in 1952.

  In 1953 he participates in the Third Sacred Art Exhibition at the Paris Museum of Modern Art where his painting Descent from the Cross receives high praise. The following year he exhibits fifty paintings at the Galerie du Hérisson in Saint-Germain-en-Laye to an enthralled public, especially Pierre Seghers – a well-known poet and publisher.

The French press associates the paintings of this period to “bewitching magic”. On the occasion of this exhibition, Bosco meets the poet Guy Lavaud. According to him, Bosco is a powerful painter and a visionary. For three consecutive years the painter is selected for the prestigious Otto Friez price at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris. In 1955, the Gallery M. Forein in the Faubourg Saint-Honoré invites Bosco for an abstract art exhibition. After careful thought, he refuses to participate. At a time when abstract art emerges into the School of Paris, influencing young painters like Alfred Manessier, Pierre Tal Coat, Jean Bazaine and many others, Bosco experiences pure abstraction but he realizes that he ends up making more or less the same paintings with this form of art. For an artist in search of new experiences, abstract art is "an easy way to be locked in a system". However, abstract art will continue to be part of his work but mainly in his works on paper.

In 1956 Bosco meets Alex Maguy, a famous collector and owner of the Galerie de l'Elysée. The forty-five years old painter has reached a maturity that is appreciated by a large public of art connoisseurs. He signs a contract that binds him to this art dealer for fifteen years, then prepares a major exhibition for the following year.

  The press is unanimous, praising his "dazzling visions". Robert Vrinat, journalist for Le Figaro newspaper, considers him "as one of the greatest painters of his generation". Americans even see him as "the latest Picasso in perspective, and very much in vogue" (New York Herald, May 14, 1957).

PIERRE BOSCO (1909-1993)

Pierre Bosco biographie

Bio (English)

Pierre Bosco oeuvres / Artworks

Exposition / Shows

Pierre Bosco media

Pierre Bosco news

Pierre Bosco contact

“Whatever be the subject, the façade of a cathedral, hurdle races, a reclining figure, Bosco almost always contrives to evoke that deeper resonance of life which is not to be seen on the surface.”

Art News and Review, March 16, 1957