Guglielmo Janni

Guglielmo Janni was born in Rome in 1892 into a well-off family, son of lawyer Giuseppe Janni and Teresa Belli, niece of the renowned poet Giuseppe Gioachino Belli. His childhood was marked by a strict upbringing, softened only by the early death of his older sister. After successfully attending the classical high school Virgilio, he began studying law but was drawn to art. He studied mural decoration at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome under Giulio Bargellini.
Janni gained recognition in the Italian art scene by exhibiting at the first Roman Quadriennale, presenting still lifes characterized by great delicacy and traditional sensitivity. He regularly participated in major national and international art events, including the 1936 Venice Biennale. His works often explore religious and mythological themes, with influences reminiscent of Piero della Francesca, as seen in the votive chapel fresco for the fallen in the church of San Bartolomeo in Busseto.
Art critics like Roberto Longhi praised his painting for its literary and mythical vocation. After an existential crisis in 1937, Janni abandoned painting to focus on studying and publishing the unpublished writings of his great-grandfather, the poet Giuseppe Gioachino Belli. He died in Rome in 1958 while working on a monumental biography of the poet, published posthumously in 1967.