Anna Chromy
Anna Chromy
Anna Chromy's sculpture 'Il Commendatore' in Prague
Born	18 July 1940 Český Krumlov, Bohemia (now Czech Republic)
Died	18 September 2021 Monaco
Nationality	Czech
Education	École des Beaux-Arts, Paris
Occupation(s)	Sculptor, painter
Known for	'The Cloak of Conscience', 'Olympic Spirit', 'Europe'
Movement	Surrealism, Fantastic Realism
Awards	Premio Michelangelo

Anna Chromy (18 July 1940 – 18 September 2021) was a Czech painter and sculptor. A sculptor is an artist who makes art by carving or shaping stone, metal, or wood. She was born in Bohemia, which is now part of the Czech Republic. However, she grew up in Austria, lived in Paris, and did most of her artistic work in Italy. Today, people can see her beautiful artworks in many museums and public places across Europe and Asia.^[1]

'To be or not to be', 1982

'Eternal Love', 1979

'Clown', 1979

Anna Chromy was born during a very difficult time in history. At the end of World War II, her family had to leave Bohemia and move to Vienna, the capital of Austria. She spent her early years growing up there.

Later in her life, she moved to Paris, France. In Paris, she went to a very famous art school called the École des Beaux-Arts (School of Fine Arts). At this school, she studied hard, learned how to paint and draw, and successfully finished her education as an artist.^[2]

For many years, Anna Chromy worked mainly as a painter. However, in the year 1992, she had a very bad accident. Because of her injuries, she was not able to paint for eight long years. Instead of giving up on art, she decided to change her focus. She started making sculptures using bronze (a type of metal) and marble (a hard, beautiful stone). This change made her a very famous sculptor.^[3]

To make her sculptures, she set up her main art studio in Pietrasanta, a town in Tuscany, Italy. Pietrasanta is famous around the world for its art and stone. She worked with local metal factories, like Fonderia Artistica Mariani and Massimo Del Chiaro, to cast her bronze statues. For her marble art, she worked at the Massimo Galleni studio and the famous Franco Barattini's Michelangelo studio in Carrara, Italy. Carrara is a place known for having the best white marble in the world.

The sculpture installed at Petersfriedhof in Salzburg

Anna Chromy's most famous piece of art is a large, empty cloak. It looks like an invisible person is wearing a large coat, but there is no body or face inside. She named this artwork "The Cloak of Conscience". Sometimes, people also call it Pieta or Commendatore. You can find copies of this empty cloak in important places, like outside the Salzburg Cathedral in Austria, the Estates Theatre in Prague, and the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.^[4]

The biggest version of this cloak is very special. She carved it from a single, giant block of white marble from the Carrara mountains. This block of stone weighed 250 tons. The finished sculpture is about 5 meters (16 feet) tall. She carefully carved out the inside of the stone so that it is hollow. It is so big that people can walk inside it, and it acts as a small chapel (a quiet place for prayer). Because of this amazing work, she won the 'Premio Michelangelo' award. She was the very first woman to ever win this famous art prize.^[5]

'Ball in Venice', 1979

As an artist, Anna Chromy loved to create art about music, classical dance, and ancient myths (old stories about gods and heroes). She was very inspired by the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, especially his famous opera called Don Giovanni.

Her painting style was influenced by Salvador Dalí, a famous artist who painted dream-like pictures (Surrealism). Her art also shows ideas from the Vienna School of Fantastic Realism. When she used colors in her paintings, she was inspired by the famous British artist J. M. W. Turner, who was known for his beautiful and bright light effects.

Anna Chromy did not just show her art in Europe; she was also very popular in Asia. She was the very first Western artist to have her own solo art show at the National Museum of China. This huge museum is located in the famous Tiananmen Square in Beijing.

She also had big shows of her paintings and sculptures in other Chinese cities like Guangzhou and Foshan. Because of her great work and her friendship with China, she was made an Honorary Fellow (a special member) of the National Sculpture Association of China in the year 2012.^[6]

• Don Giovanni and the Sound of Bronze (2000) – Prague, Czech Republic
• Song of Orpheus (Il Canto di Orfeo) (2004) – Pietrasanta, Italy
• Europe (2005) – Place Vendôme, Paris, France
• Guangzhou Art Fair (2005) – Guangzhou, China
• Mythos Revisited (2007) – National Archaeological Museum, Athens, Greece
• Anna Chromy Exhibition (2012) – Foshan City Art Museum, China
• National Museum Exhibition (2015) – Beijing, China^[7]