Ernesto de Fiori
Selbstbildnis, 1923

Alfred Flechtheim and Ernesto de Fiori

In 1903 the Italian-German sculptor, painter and writer Ernesto de Fiori first studied painting at the Academy in Munich and then, from1904–08, in Rome under Otto Greiner. From 1911 he turned to sculpture while in Paris, influenced by Edgar Degas and Aristide Maillol. He fought in World War I and then trained as a sculptor under Hermann Haller in Zurich from 1917–20. He lived mostly in Berlin from 1914 until his emigration to Brazil in 1936. His works, generally nudes and portraits, are in a markedly Impressionist style. His bronzes often have riven surfaces and characteristically slender contours.

De Fiori and Alfred Flechtheim met while in Paris as part of the circle of young German artists at the Café du Dôme. Flechtheim supported these artists who had, at that time, hardly made a name for themselves on the German art market. Flechtheim also acquired several works by de Fiori for his private collection. After Flechtheim founded his gallery in 1913 Ernesto de Fiori regularly took part in group exhibitions in the art dealer’s galleries in Düsseldorf, Berlin and Frankfurt. He was, however, never given a solo exhibition. Many major museums in Germany acquired works by the artist through the gallery for their collections. Ernesto de Fiori was one of a number of artists and well-known figures who were on the committee of Flechtheim’s magazine ‘Der Querschnitt’ in the 1920s, to which he also contributed articles.