The artist Sam Vanni is one of the founders of abstract art. It was he who first attracted the public to this direction of art and with his drawings proved that meaningful abstract illustrations can be of great social value. After all, with their help it is possible in an allegorical form to reflect your most genuine thoughts. The history of this amazing person, his life path determine his creative nature, constantly striving for excellence in everything.
Biography
Vanni himself was born on July 6, 1908 in the city of Vyborg. He grew up in a rich family with Jewish roots. The boy’s parents at that time were engaged in trade and allowed him to independently manage their free time. It was in childhood that Vanni himself began to develop his artistic abilities, drawing various illustrations in his albums. Until 1941, he was known as Samuel the Uninvited, and then he had to change his name in order to get rid of persecution by the Nazis.
From early childhood, the boy studied linguistics, showing a special craving for the Finnish language. He learned to read and write early, and even earlier, to draw strange, hardly understood illustrations. In 1921, Samuel and his family moved to Helsinki. There he entered the prestigious Academy of Fine Arts, where he immediately impressed his teachers with a unique approach to creativity, preferring meaningful abstractionism to clear classical forms. After graduation, the young man took private lessons from the Florentine artist Väinö Aaltonen for some time to improve his theoretical and practical knowledge in art.
Career
Samuel began his creative career in 1931, when he presented his best works at the Finnish exhibition. Critics and art researchers immediately noted the originality of the artist, and journalists began to actively cover his work in the media. Glory began to come to Samuel the Uninvited, to which he never purposefully aspired.
In his free time, he began to give private lessons in painting, to teach at local art institutions and teach children not only the traditional methods of the artist’s craft, but also unique approaches to creating forms, lines, abstract objects. Often, he came up with his own authoring of classes that delighted students.
In 1941, Samuel, fearing persecution by Nazi Germany, took the pseudonym Sam Vanni. At the same time, his career again went up. The artist finally found his true calling, realizing that he should devote his life to abstractionism. Society did not immediately positively evaluate his new works with a deeper bias in abstract creativity, but a little later the whole world realized the significance of this new direction in art. Some traditional critics accused Vanni of putting the form higher than the content, but his contemporaries, on the contrary, were delighted with this ability, trying to unravel the meaning of each painting by an abstract artist.
Creation
Vanni himself left a massive creative legacy. His paintings still adorn the walls of the most magnificent art galleries in the world. In addition, the artist was awarded many times for his creative achievements during his lifetime. For example, in 1950 he won a public competition in Finland by presenting his mural "Contrapunctus". Today it adorns the hall of the Helsinki Finnish Workers College. And in 1955, Vanni himself founded his own art group "Prism", which organized art exhibitions, conferences and meetings. A little later, the artist was highly appreciated by the Academy of Finland, making him an honorary member and honoring the Pro Finlandia medal.
