[1] Between 1873 and 1884 Gilardi was assistant of Gastaldi at the Accademia Albertina, and in 1884 was promoted to the role of professor of drawing.

He got a large popularity due to the painting Hodie mihi cras tibi (1884), now in the Modern Art Gallery of Turin.

[5] One of Gilardi's notable paintings is the 1877 piece A Visit to the Gallery, which the University of Michigan Museum of Art acquired in 1895.

[2] The painting depicts a group of young women looking at a nude classical female statue,[6] possibly the Venus de Medici at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.

[2] Molly Peacock's poem "Girl and Friends View Naked Goddess" is directly inspired by this painting.