Biography

1913 Erminio Maffioletti was born on October 5, in Bergamo.
1927-30 He attends Decoration evening classes at the Scuola d’Arte Applicata “Andrea Fantoni” in Bergamo under Francesco Domeneghini's direction.
1930-34 In 1930 he enters the Accademia Carrara, directed by Contardo Barbieri. Among his schoolfellows : Roberto Algisi, Egidio Lazzarini, Ugo Recchi, Domenico Rossi.
1936-39 In October he moves to Paris where he stays for three years working as a  decorator. He attends the Accademia Comunale “Petit Toit” under the direction of sculptor Vlerique, a former pupil of Auguste Rodin.
He attends  evening and Sunday Painting classes at the  Libera Accademia Gadin in  Montmartre.
1937 He visits the  Paris International Exposition where he can  admire Guernica by Picasso,   which is exhibited at the  the Spanish Pavilion. In 1938 he exhibits, at the Salon d’Automne, the   painting Interno di osteria inspired by wineshops in Via San Tomaso in Bergamo.
1939 He comes back to Bergamo and works together with Domenico Rossi on the decoration of the series of frescos about Storie di Francesco Nullo in the "Casa Littoria" in Bergamo (currently known as  Palazzo della Libertà).
1940-42 He lives in Rome working as a designer in a building firm.
1944-45 With Domenico Rossi, Roberto Algisi and  Egidio Giaroli he sets up a business to design and produce artistic ceramics. In the same year a selection of those artefacts is exhibited at the Gallery  La Rotonda in Bergamo.
1945 He participates in the first Sacred Art Exhibition at the Angelicum in Milan.
He enters the competition “Fra’ Galgario del Ritratto e dell’Autoritratto” sharing second prize with Anna Tallone.
1946 He wins  first prize with his work of art I minatori at the  Miniera competition organised at the Galleria Tamanza in Bergamo by the firm S.I.L.L.A. He participates in the first edition of the Sacred Art National Prize with his painting Crocefissione (which currently is at the Malpensata Parish, being donated by the artist himself). The painting gives rise to a heated debate among experts and causes disapproval among local ecclesiastic authorities owing to "the lack of religious principles".
1946-1959 He teaches Pictorial Decoration at the Scuola d’Arte “Andrea Fantoni” in Bergamo.
1947 Invited to participate in the Sacred Art Prize at the Angelicum in  Milan, the three paintings selected  for the event are refused: Cristo deriso, Cena in Emmaus and the  Crocefissione, attacked the previous year at the Sacred Art National Prize  of Bergamo.
1948 He moves to the studio in via Pradello in Bergamo. He will stay there until 2004. Together with Domenico Rossi, Longaretti, Scarpanti, Aiolfi, Alberto Vitali, Giaroli, Attilio Nani, Nino Galizzi and  Alda Ghisleni, he is selected for the XXIV International Venice  Biennale where he exhibits his painting  La chiromante.
1949 Proceedings for the VII Congress of  CIAM (International Congress of Modern Architecture) start in Bergamo. Nino Zucchelli publishes a book with drawings of Bergamo's views performed by Longaretti, Domenico Rossi, Maffioletti, Scarpanti  and Alberto Vitali.
Maffioletti is appointed Achille Funi's assistant at  the Accademia Carrara. He will hold that position until 1953 when  Funi leaves the management of the school.
1950 Together with  Domenico Rossi he makes some mural paintings with themes taken from the working world for the  Head Offices  of the Banca Popolare di Bergamo in viale Roma (namely the grand staircase wall).
1951 He is invited at the IX Triennale of  Milan where he exhibits his preliminary drawings for the competition for the stained-glass windows of the Duomo of Milan (where he ranks second).
He works with Achille Funi on the decoration of Cinema San Marco of Bergamo.
1952  He starts  working as a stage designer for the  Teatro delle Novità at the Donizetti Theatre of Bergamo. He makes the scenery for Arlecchino Re, lyric drama by  L. Benelli, music by S. Orlando (premiere on September, 27).
1953 Architect Enrico Sesti entrusts him with a new task: the decoration of the grand staircase and the hall of Cinema Arlecchino in Bergamo. Together  with  Domenico Rossi he works at the project. He spends some time in London with Elia Aiolfi and Sandro Pinetti. He starts painting the series of Cascine bergamasche. He makes the sceneries for the Trovatore by  G.Verdi for  the  Teatro delle Novità at Donizetti the  Theatre of Bergamo and for Il Sistema della Dolcezza by Vieri Tosatti for the Opera Theatre of Rome.
1954 He wins the contest for the decoration of a wall in the Sala Maggiore del Palazzo dei Contratti e delle Manifestazioni of the  Camera di Commercio (Borsa Merci) in Bergamo on the following subject: Labour in Bergamo over the centuries. The work of art is a mosaic made in collaboration with Domenico Rossi. With Domenico Rossi he makes, in the same building, the plastic decoration in the Galleria degli Stemmi. With Rossi again, he makes the plastic decoration on the ceiling of  the Galleria Cividini for the block of flats Porta Nuova in Bergamo (architects  Galmozzi-Boschetti).
1955 At the VII Rome Quadrennial Exhibition, he exhibits the painting Pecore.
He makes the scenery for Giuseppe Verdi's Otello  at the  Teatro delle Novità at Donizetti Theatre in Bergamo.
1956 He is among the founding members of “Gruppo Bergamo” (1956-1959), joined by Cornali, Lazzarini, Raffaello Locatelli, Longaretti, Bepo Milesi, Rinaldo Pigola, Tilde Poli, Luigi Scarpanti, Alberto Vitali. The group, whose headquarters are in via XX Settembre, intends to arrange exhibitions and  cultural activities with the purpose of promoting the production of Bergamo's artists. It also aims at encouraging exchanges and relationships with artists from other towns (over the years, among the exhibitors, we can mention: Bruno Cassinari, Lucio Fontana, Piero Manzoni, Ennio Morlotti, Emilio Scanavino).
1957 Opening exhibition of Gruppo Bergamo, that, in the same year, exhibits also at the Centro San Fedele in Milan.
1958 He exhibits at the X National Prize “Golfo della Spezia”. The so-called  Impronte and  Ombre period dates to this year.
1959 Second exhibition of Gruppo Bergamo. He participates in the XXI Art Biennial  at   Palazzo della Permanente in  Milan with his work of art  Composizione.
1961 Solo exhibition at the Galleria La Bussola in Torino, introduced by Dino Formaggio. The so-called Composizioni (Lagune) period dates to this year.
1962 Solo exhibition at the Galleria Lorenzelli in Bergamo introduced by Dino Formaggio. He makes the altar-piece with Il Crocefisso and  Pio X for the new Parish of   Celadina in Bergamo.
1963 He wins the contest for the wall decoration of the entrance hall of the sporting centre Italcementi of Bergamo (Piscine Italcementi). He is given the chair of Figurative Arts at  Liceo Artistico Statale of Bergamo. He will hold that position until 1979. He spends some time in London. He starts his experimentations with the camera.
1965-1967 He starts the series of Cariatidi and Figure. He makes the monumental walnut  altar-piece which is carved for the hypogean church of Seminario Vescovile in Bergamo.
1968-71 Several stays in southern Italy (Basilicata, Puglia, Campania). The series of paintings called  Metamorfosi starts.
1971-75 Journeys to Toscana, in the Volterranean land . He paints the Crete series and  inaugurates the  Variazioni antropomorfe series.
1981-84 He is appointed Coordinatore generale and he is in charge of supervising the  Didactics of the  Accademia Carrara di Belle Arti in Bergamo.
Stays in Sardegna. The series named Insediamenti starts.
1986-89 After a stay in Naples and Ischia  he inaugurates the series of paintings entitled Storie napoletane.
1992  After 30 years of intentional absence from exhibitions, he consents to participate  in the exhibition Profili. Aspetti della pittura a Bergamo 1945-60 at the Art Gallery  La Diade in Bergamo.
1996 With the painting  Ombre (1959) he takes part in the historical exhibition Maestri e artisti. 200 anni dell’Accademia Carrara, organised  at the former church of Sant’Agostino in Bergamo.
1997 Anthological solo exhibition at the Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea  in  Bergamo (GAMeC) supervised by Enrico De Pascale and Vittorio Fagone.
2001 Some of his paintings are exhibited at the historical exhibition Arte in Bergamo
1945-1959 held  at the  Palazzo della Ragione by the Assessorato alla Cultura and the Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea of Bergamo.
2002 Some of his paintings are exhibited at the historical exhibition Arte in Bergamo 1960-1969 held at the  Palazzo della Ragione by the Assessorato alla Cultura and the Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea of Bergamo.
2004 He is awarded the  Premio Ulisse per la cultura e l’arte by the Provincia of Bergamo.
2009 He dies at the age of 95 years in Bergamo. Some of his paintings are exhibited at the collective exhibition Giuria. La Giuria del Premio Comune di Gorlago in
mostra, Sala Civica Comunale, Gorlago (BG).
2010 One of his works of art is shown at the exhibition  Invito a Palazzo. IX edition.
Opere dalla collezione di arte contemporanea della Banca Popolare
di Bergamo, under the supervision  of  Enrico De Pascale, Cloister of Santa Marta, in Bergamo.
2013 Two exhibitions celebrate the centenary  of his birth. Erminio
Maffioletti. De Rerum Natura, under the supervision of Enrico De Pascale, Sala
“Virgilio Carbonari”, Municipality of  Seriate (Bergamo); Erminio Maffioletti.
Metamorfosi, under the supervision of Angelo Piazzoli and  Anna Maria Spreafico, Head Offices of  Credito Bergamasco in  Bergamo.