Silpa Bhirasri

Who is Silpa Bhirasri?

Silpa Bhirasri was born Corrado Feroci in Florence, Italy, where he trained as a sculptor at the Accademia di Belle Arti. In 1923 he was recruited by the Siamese government to work as a sculptor for the Fine Arts Department, and he settled permanently in Thailand, later taking Thai citizenship and the name Silpa Bhirasri during the Second World War. He designed and executed many of Bangkok's most important public monuments, including the Democracy Monument and the Victory Monument, as well as statues of national heroes and monarchs. His most enduring legacy is as an educator: he founded the School of Fine Arts that in 1943 became Silpakorn University, Thailand's premier institution for the visual arts, and trained a generation of Thai modern artists. He is widely honoured as the 'father of modern Thai art,' and Silpakorn University commemorates him every 15 September as Silpa Bhirasri Day.

Sources: Silpakorn University official history of its founder Silpa Bhirasri (Corrado Feroci) · Apinan Poshyananda, 'Modern Art in Thailand: Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries' (Oxford University Press, 1992)