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Achilles G. Rizzoli (1896-1981) was "discovered" in 1990, when one of his nieces offered a portfolio of his drawings for sale to gallery owner Bonnie Grossman. Ms. Grossman, following a clue, called a grand-nephew, who, surprised by the call, told her that he had "lots more of Uncle Achilles' stuff" in his garage. When the garage was opened & the contents sorted, what followed was arguably the most important art find of the 20thCentury.
  The son of Italian-Swiss parents, A.G. Rizzoli was born in Marin County & worked as an architect at a San Francisco firm for 40 years where he was regarded as merely a "competent" draftsman. In 1915, his father disappeared into the hills with a stolen shotgun. Twenty-one years later A.G. was called upon to identify the recovered body of his father. In that same year (1936) his beloved mother entered the hospital, and early the next year died of complications of diabetes, a traumatic and pivotal event in Rizzoli's life. For several years thereafter, Rizzoli honored his mother with elaborate architectural tributes on the anniversary of her birth & on Mothers' Day.
  On the first Sunday in August between the years 1935 & 1940, Rizzoli made the front room of his little home into a museum for the "Achilles Techtonic Exhibit" Many a person  who stopped by to see his drawings or gave him a compliment returned to find him/herself depicted in the form of an elaborate, fanciful building. The building-portraits sometimes represented the physical graces, accomplishments or  character of the person, and sometimes the "heavenly dwelling" that the person might look forward to after death.
  Rizzoli claimed to be given his ideas by God or by spiritual guides. His great project (inspired by the Pan-Pacific Expo of 1915) for which he made many drawings, was an "expeau" he called YTTE ("Yield to Total Elation") a grand tribute to the "Queen of the Arts, Architecture,"  Rizzoli's heros (friends, neighbors, saints & imaginary characters,) human progress, fun & electric lights.
  A.G. Rizzoli was a quiet, shy man  who never married, lived a simple, ascetic lifestyle & had no close friends. His rich fantasy life produced a huge body of work full of evocative, punning captions, visual jokes, sentiment, neologisms and sometimes incomprehensible writing. His main influence is the high Beaux-Arts style of his age. To learn more about Rizzoli, follow the links at the bottom of this page.
Click on Thumbnails
(Note: Rizzoli's works are BIG and highly detailed. My scans are from A.G. Rizzoli: Architect of Magnificent Visions, Hernandez, Beardsley & Cardinal. 1997 San Diego Museum of Art. This book is available in your local library, and I highly recommend it.)
Rizzoli Links
American Masters, Intuit
Metropolis Magazine: Metropolis Insights
Slides 9 & 10 are Rizzoli works. Also see selection of other outsider artists.
Review of Rizzoli Art Book
A.G Rizzoli: Architect of Magnificent Visions, Book cover
Popsubculture, The Biography Project
Good Biographical sketch of Rizzoli
Biography of Rizzoli (Booklist.com)
"Souvenir Winner" V. & VI, by Macgregor Card (The East Village)
I continue to look for Rizzoli links. There are very few good links available for this artist.

A.G. Rizzoli died in 1981. He & his mother are buried in San Francisco. Many of his works are on view at the Ames Gallery in Berkeley CA. Thank you for visiting this page.
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