  |
Born in the German-speaking South Tyrol region of northeastern Italy to a family with a long tradition of wood carving, Joseph (Peppi) Rifesser followed in his grandfather's and father's footsteps and became a sculptor in wood. Having attended the State Art School in Ortisei, he began to create religious figures, basing himself on the medieval Gothic style.
He burst into prominence through a scandal that rocked the art world in December 1958. Rifesser learned by chance that one of his sculptures, a Madonna with Child Holding Grapes, was being offered for sale as a 14th-century French Gothic original at the Dorotheum, the most prestigious auction house in Vienna. Another one of his works, a Foolish Virgin, had already been sold. He informed the auction house that the work was his, but nobody believed him; numerous art experts pronounced the work genuine. He offered to sculpt a second Madonna to prove his claim; before it was completed, the experts had conceded, and his career took off.
The sensation surrounding his work and his remarkable fidelity to the Gothic style resulted in significant press attention, and he received numerous invitations to sculpt on live television.
In addition to his religious works, some of them monumental, he has also experimented with other styles, as well as sculpture in bronze. He continues to live and work in Ortisei.
| Works in the metro: | |
| The Tree of Life | Lionel-Groulx |
Other works: |
|
| Outside Quebec: | |
| Madonna and Child Holding Grapes ("Dorotheum Madonna") | |
| Group with 12 Apostles and Madonna (Pentecost) | Heilig-Geist-Kirche, Cent, Luxembourg |
| St. Christopher | Hospiz-Kapelle, Arlberg-Paß, Austria |
Bibliography:
"Pfingstszene von Josef Rifesser." Luxemburger Wort, 3 June 1995.
Rifesser, Joseph. Personal communication. 29 August 2004.
Rifesser, Joseph. Joseph Rifesser: Sculpture (exhibition catalogue). Milan: Amilcare Pizzi, 1963.