Guido Cadorin in born in Venice on 6 June: he was the eleventh son of the sculptor, carver and cabinetmaker Vincenzo and Matilde Rocchin. His father, an Art Nouveau artist particularly appreciated by Queen Margherita of Savoy, descended from a family that included members of one of the seven ‘stone–cutter’ workshops favoured by the Republic. Guido’s siblings were also artists: Ettore, the eldest, a sculptor and lecturer at Columbia University; Romeo, also a sculptor; and his sister Ida, a refined draughtsman and watercolourist, who married architect Piero Osghian and died at a young age.

He attends the studio of painter Duilio Korompay, and the following year becomes a pupil of Cesare Laurenti. He attends the Accademia di Belle Arti (although enrolled at the Liceo Ginnasio Marco Polo) where he meets Ettore Tito and some young artists: among them Amedeo Modigliani, Fabio Mauroner and Guido Marussig. His friendship with Brenno del Giudice, a future architect, who would marry one of Guido’s sisters, Tullia, also dates back to these high school years. In 1908, at the age of sixteen, he is among the exhibitors at Ca’ Pesaro.

Debut at the Venice Biennale with works of applied art exhibited in the room dedicated to the Cadorin family.

He is present at both exhibitions at Ca’ Pesaro and begins a cycle of frescoes, completed the following year, in the church next to the Visitazione monastery in San Vito al Tagliamento.

He participateD in the First International Exhibition in Rome with La beghina (1909), L’offerta (1909) and Ritratto di mia madre (1910), while at the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh he exhibits Ritratto di mio padre (1910).

He exhibits the painting L’idolo (1911) at the Mostra dei rifiutati di Brera held at the Caffè Cova in Milan. He exhibits at Ca’ Pesaro together with the young people of the Aratro group, coordinated by Teodoro Wolf Ferrari.

He exhibits both at the Roman Secession exhibition (where he was also present the year before) and at the exhibition of some artists rejected by the Venice Biennale, held at the Excelsior Palace Hotel on the Venice Lido.

He exhibits again at the Secession exhibition in Rome, where Queen Margherita buys one of his paintings, Barche. Drafted in the war with the rank of sergeant, he is posted to Mestre and later to San Nicolò del Lido. His captains are first a Tuscan, Roberto Papini, director of the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna in Rome, then a Sicilian, De Micheli, who is portrayed by the artist in the famous Ritratto del Capitano (1917).

He marries Livia Tivoli Fiorini, a painter and poet, formerly his pupil. He also executes the series of woodcuts dedicated to Venezia di guerra (Venice at war).

On 31 October his eldest son, Paolo, is born. A major commission comes his way following his discharge from the army: the decoration and complete furnishing of Count Nicolò Papadopoli’s villa in Vittorio Veneto, the architectural restoration of which is entrusted to Brenno del Giudice.

He finishes work on Villa Papadopoli and exhibits a number of works at Ca’ Pesaro. Among them, the portrait of Baroness Fanny Winspeare (Signora e giardino primaverile). He is present at the first Esposizione del Circolo Artistico at the Geri-Boralevi Gallery in St. Mark’s Square.

Appointed a member of the Hanging Committee of the 12th Venice Biennale, in that edition he exhibits Mia moglie e mio figlio (1919, later cut down) and Le tabacchine (1920), which is bought by the King. He participates in the Mostra Nazionale d’Arte Sacra in Venice (Palazzo Reale) and presents two woodcuts in the competition for two prints depicting two Stations of the Cross. During these years he produces a series of drawings for vases for the Venini company in Murano. On 26 August his daughter Ida is born.

He produces some important paintings, including Il canale, Campo della Bragora and the Lagune series, the sketches for which date from the war years. In the same year he takes part in the competition for the decoration of the church of San Francesco in Ravenna and, with the help of Astolfo de Maria and Bortolo Sacchi, he frescoes the parish church of Col San Martino (Treviso).

Again with Bortolo Sacchi, he frescoes the parish church of Vidor (Treviso), which he completes in 1925. He exhibits at the Venice Biennale and at the Mostra Nazionale d’Arte Sacra in Milan. Together with Astolfo de Maria, Sacchi, Martinuzzi, del Giudice and Maranesi, he also attempts to form a group of artists seeking the ‘high patronage’ of Gabriele d’Annunzio. Between 1922 and 1923 he takes part in the competition for an altarpiece for the church in Valdobbiadene, finishing second after Ubaldo Oppi.

He frescoes Villa Zadra in Vidor with the help of Giovanni Zanzotto for the decorative parts. He also paints the altarpiece of the Deposizione for the chapel in the castle in the same town, along with the frescoes for the Zadra family chapel in the cemetery, and the decoration of the primary schools named after Innocente Zadra. He exhibits at the Mostra Nazionale d’Arte Decorativa in Monza, at the Galleria Pesaro in Milan, at the Biennale of Liturgical Art in Venice and in travelling exhibition in the Netherlands.

He participates in the 14th Venice Biennale and at the Mostra del Ritratto Femminile Contemporaneo at the Villa Reale in Monza. He is then invited by d’Annunzio to his house, Vittoriale, where he produces the paintings, decorations and drawings for the stained-glass windows of the Zambra del Misello (Stanza del lebbroso) and executed a pencil portrait of the poet.

With the collaboration of Astolfo de Maria, he frescoes the church in Moriago della Battaglia (Treviso) and, commissioned by Marcello Piacentini, goes to Tobruk in Libya to decorate the town hall.

He paints the cycle of frescoes for the central atrium of the Ambasciatori hotel in Via Veneto in Rome, designed by architect Marcello Piacentini and with the collaboration of Brenno del Giudice for the squaring off and Melchiorre Bega for the rounded decorations. He exhibits at the Novecento Italiano exhibition at the Palazzo della Permanente in Milan, at the Venice Biennale and at the Exhibition of Modern Italian Art in New York. A competition is announced for the decoration of the apse of the Church of San Giusto in Trieste.

He exhibits at the Venice Biennale and at the Galleria Scopinich in Milan, undertakes his first voyage to Paris, produces some works – now lost – in Rome and Milan and creates the altarpiece for the church of San Pietro in Gorizia (now Nova Gorica).

He decorates the crypt of the Victory monument in Bolzano. He wins the competition for the cathedral in La Spezia (never realised) in collaboration with Brenno del Giudice and participates in the International Exhibition in Barcelona. He is appointed to the chair of Pictorial Decoration at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Venice.

He begins work on the mosaic decoration of the apse of San Giusto Cathedral in Trieste, which iscompleted in 1933. In 1930 he participates in the Venice Biennale with an important solo exhibition. He begins working with Luigi Pirandello, of whom he paints several portraits.

Frescoes for the Palazzo delle Poste in Gorizia, designed by architect Angiolo Mazzoni.

Cadorin participates in the Venice Biennale.

Allegorical frieze for the Italian pavilion at the Brussels International Exhibition, where he also receives the Grand Prix. He decorates the Maison d’Italie in Brussels with frescoes. One of his self-portraits is purchased by the Belgian Government. Exhibition for the 40th anniversary of the Biennale.

He exhibits at the Kley Kamps Gallery in The Hague and wins a prize at the International Art Exhibition in Budapest. He moves from the chair of Decoration to the chair of Painting at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Venice. He also participates in the Venice Biennale.

He participates with numerous works at the Venice Biennale, where he also frescoes one of the four panels for the Rotunda; he executes the fresco depicting The Judgement of Solomon for the Palace of Justice in Milan; he also presents two sketches in the competition for the fresco decoration of the atrium of the Liviano, the seat of the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy at the University of Padua.

Altarpiece for the parish church in Pero (Treviso) and mosaic panels representing the masks of the commedia dell’arte for the San Marco cinema in Venice.

He exhibits at the Galleria Asta in Milan; he executes three large tempera paintings for the central hall of the headquarters of the ‘Gazzettino’ newspaper in Palazzo Giustinian Faccanon in Venice.

The Venice Biennale dedicates a solo exhibition to him. One of his Self-portraits from 1939, exhibited on that occasion, is donated by the artist to the Galleria d’Arte Moderna at Palazzo Pitti in Florence.

He paints a large cycle of mural paintings for the parish church of Cadola (Belluno), assisted by his daughter Ida, Zoran Music and Sylva Bernt.

He exhibits at the Quadriennale in Rome and the Venice Biennale.

Group exhibitions in Cairo, Toulouse and Venice.

He participates in the Venice Biennale.

He wins the competition for an altarpiece in the church of Recoaro Terme: a mosaic that he would complete in 1955.

He exhibits at the Venice Biennale, in Barcelona, at the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid, and at the Galerie Charpentier in Paris. In 1953 he produces the mosaic panel for the Palazzo delle Poste in Mestre; he exhibits at the California Palace of the Legion of Honour in San Francisco and at the Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence (IV Mostra Nazionale Premio del Fiorino).

He wins equal first prize for the stained glass windows of the church of San Niccolò in Lugano, which would never be executed.

Virgilio Guidi organises a large anthological exhibition of his work in the Sala Napoleonica of the Museo Correr in Venice.

He exhibits at the Primi espositori di Ca’ Pesaro 1908–1919 exhibition organised by the Opera Bevilacqua La Masa in the Sala Napoleonica of the Museo Correr, curated by Guido Perocco.

He leaves his teaching post at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Venice due to the age limit. He receives a first-class commendation and the Gold Medal of the President of the Republic for Art and Culture.

His works are exhibited at the Exposition de la peinture italienne contemporaine in Zurich and at the Premio Nazionale Ardengo Soffici in Prato.

Carlo Ludovico Ragghianti includes him in the major exhibition entitled Arte moderna in Italia 1915–1935 at Palazzo Strozzi in Florence, while the City of Venice sponsors an extensive anthological exhibition at the Casino del Lido, curated by Paolo Rizzi.

The Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice organises an extensive retrospective (catalogue with texts by G. Marchiori, S. Branzi, U. Apollonio, B. Morucchio, M. Valsecchi, P. Rizzi).

His wife Livia dies.

Guido Cadorin’s long artistic career comes to an end. As his last effort, he paints a Madonna with “sweet and compassionate eyes” for his friend Don Pietro Ceccato.

He dies in Venice on 18 August.