Androniqi Zengo Antoniu

Androniqi Zengo Antoniu (26 May 1913 – 10 February 2000) was an Albanian painter. She is considered to the first professional woman painter from Albania, along with her sister Sofia Zengo Papadhimitri, and with Vangjush Mijo is credited with the introduction of impressionism to the country.

Androniqi Zengo Antoniu
Self-portrait, 1935
(National Gallery of Arts, Tirana)
Born(1913-05-26)26 May 1913
Korçë
Died10 February 2000(2000-02-10) (aged 86)
NationalityAlbanian
EducationAthens School of Fine Arts
Known forFirst Albanian woman to work as a professional artist
StyleImpressionism
SpouseKristaq Antoniu

Biography

Androniqi Zengo was born on 26 May 1913 in Korçë less than a year after the Albanian Declaration of Independence, and was the daughter of the icon painter Vangjel Zengo.[1] Her sister Sofia was born in 1915.[2] She graduated with honours in painting and sculpture from the Athens School of Fine Arts.[3][4] After studying in Paris, she returned to Albania to teach at the Nëna Mbretëreshë Pedagogical Institute.[3] A painter mainly of impressionist portraits and landscapes, as well as icons; her sister was strongly influenced by realism.[2] She is credited as Albania's first professional woman painter.[1]

In the late 1930s she is purported to have had an affair with the poet Lasgush Poradeci.[5] In 1941 she married the singer Kristaq Antoniu.[6]

During her lifetime, Zengo Antoniu had at least three solo exhibitions.[1] Her first in 1935; her second in 1937 - to mark the 25th anniversary of the founding of Albania.[3][7] She also took part in various group exhibitions, including one in New York in 1939.[1] In 1963 she exhibited at the Alexandria Biennale, and was awarded two medals. She also worked alongside her father and painted several churches in her hometown, in Tirana and other places in Albania. In 1964 she painted the Vangjelizmo Church in Tirana.[7]

She died on 10 February 2000.[7] Alongside Vangjush Mijo, Zengo Antoniu is credited with the introduction of impressionism to the Albania.[8]

Legacy

Zengo Antoniu's surviving body of work consists of over 500 pieces. There are 55 of her works are in the collection of the Albanian National Museum of Fine Arts.[3] Her works have featured in several retrospectives. In 2013 she featured in an exhibition examining the work of both her family, Zengo, and that of the Antoniu family.[9] In 2017, works by her were posthumously presented at documenta 14.[10]

According to art historians Shpresa Tolaj Gjonbalaj and Rregjina Gokaj, her works are part of the canon of second generation of Albanian art.[11]

One of the streets in Tirana's Laprakë district is named after her.[12]

References
  1. Shqiptare, Qendra Mbarekombetare e Koleksionisteve (25 May 2017). "26 Maj 1913, lindi piktorja e parë shqiptare Androniqi Zengo-Antoniu". Qendra Mbarekombetare e Koleksionisteve Shqiptare (in Albanian). Archived from the original on 28 July 2019. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  2. "Djemtë e Sofia Zengos: Një muze për pikturën e nënës" (in Albanian). Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  3. "Rivlerësohet 5.5 milionë lekëpiktura e Androniqi Zengos - Shqiptarja". shqiptarja.com (in Albanian). Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  4. Kalo, Sofia (15 March 2016). Change of Sight, Sites of Creativity: The Visual Arts in Albania after Socialism. Doctoral Dissertations (Thesis). p. 28. doi:10.7275/7950680.0.
  5. Ir Ilir Shyta: The  Reception of Lasgush Poradec's Poetry. Dissertation. University of Tirana, Tirana 2015, p.78. (in Albanian)
  6. New Albania. New Albania. 1989.
  7. "Për herë të parë/ Zengo & Antoniu, zbulohen "negativët" e panjohur". Gazeta Standard Online. 30 January 2013. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  8. Keefe, Eugene K.; Studies, American University (Washington, D. C. ) Foreign Area (1971). Area Handbook for Albania. U.S. Government Printing Office.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. "Ekspozita 200 vite art të dinastisë Zengo dhe Antoniu". Gazeta Mapo. 1 February 2013. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  10. "Androniqi Zengo Antoniu". www.documenta14.de (in German). Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  11. Gjonbalaj, Shpresa Tolaj; Gokaj, Rregjina (1 January 2019). "Common and Special Features of the First School of Drawing in Albania and the First School of Applicative Arts in Kosovo". Journal of Educational and Social Research. 9 (1): 45–52. doi:10.2478/jesr-2019-0005. ISSN 2240-0524. S2CID 165856451.
  12. "Rruga Androniçi Zengo Antoniu, Tiranë (Njësia Bashkiake Nr. 11, Blloku Gintash)". albania-streets.openalfa.com. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
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