A. G. Rizzoli

by Jo Farb Hernandez

He has been compared to Blake, Piranesi, and Escher, and his imaginative architectural drawings have been described as "the find of the century." Outwardly, he was a recluse who had few companions except for his mother and children in the neighborhood; inwardly, he was the creator of fantastic renderings, including an attempt late in life to transcribe a third testament of the Bible. He is A. G. Rizzoli (1896-1981), visionary artist extraordinaire. The discovery of Rizzoli's Beaux Arts-style drawings in San Francisco came in 1990, when they were brought to the attention of a keen-eyed dealer. Since that time, Rizzoli has acquired a fame that would astonish this shy, conflicted man. Essays about Rizzoli's life, analyses of his work and writings, and sources of his inspiration are presented in this first-ever survey by scholars John Beardsley, Roger Cardinal, and Jo Farb Hernandez. A. G. Rizzoli: Architect of Magnificent Visions brings together for the first time a dazzling array of work