Leonardo Dudreville
Leonardo Dudreville was born in Venice in 1885. On moving to Milan he enrolled at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts.
In 1905 he became friendly with Anselmo Bucci; the two artists rented a studio together and the next year travelled to Paris. In 1907 he showed his first pictures, in Divisionist style, to Alberto Grubicy, who accepted him as one of the artists of his gallery. Dudreville was thus able to exhibit with them in Paris, and met Boccioni, Bonzagni and the Futurists. From 1912, however, his painting changed, becoming more abstract and showing symbolist influences. Between 1913 and 1914, along with the critic Ugo Nebbia, he founded the “Nuove Tendenze” group, also joined by Erba, Funi, Sant’Elia, and Chiattone.
After the war Dudreville abandoned the abstract style, returning to realism; in 1919 he once more came closer to the Futurists. In 1922 he was one of the founders of the group known as “Seven painters of the 20th century”, along with Bucci, Funi, Malerba, Marussig, Oppi and Sironi, but it was not long before he left the group. His painting was now approaching a meticulous realism which was particularly effective in still lifes and landscapes. This search for realism continued after 1942, when Dudreville went to live on Lake Maggiore, in Ghiffa; until his death he was to devote himself to still life painting (compositions of game in particular), landscapes, and portraits.
