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Lazzaro Donati
Large Italian Modernist Surrealist Lady Mod Oil Painting "La Ragazza Ungherese"

1963

About the Item

Lazzaro Donati (Italian, 1926-1977), Framed oil painting "La Ragazza Ungherese" The Hungarian Girl. Dated 1961. Framed: 36.25 x 28.5 inches. In good condition. Lazzaro Donati was born in Florence and attended the Academy of Fine Arts. He began to paint in 1953, and in 1955 held his first exhibition at the Indiano Gallery in Florence. Within three years eleven exhibitions followed in Italy, and as his reputation grew he was invited to give major exhibitions in London, Paris, New York, Chicago, Rio de Janeiro and Montevideo. He is considered one of the foremost contemporary Italian painters and his paintings hang in museums and private collections throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. His work i faucist recalling the works of the french Raoul Dufy, Dunoyer de Segonzac, Francois Gall and jean Jansem. Donati lived and worked at 24 Piazza Donatello in Florence, the square where generations of artists have created works worthy of the great Florentine tradition. As you entered the narrow hallway to his studio, a gilded life-size Venetian angel beckoned you to his door. Once inside, the present faded away and you found yourself in an atelier where early masters might have worked during the Renaissance. Within, luxurious Persian rugs set off the innumerable objects d’art and antique furnishings. Light poured in through the sloping glass wall on the north side. A dramatic stairway led to an overhanging balcony which served as a private gallery where the artist hung some of his favorite early works. To the left of the entrance was a smaller studio where Donati sculpted, with a window overlooking the famous old English cemetery where tourists laid flowers on the grave of Elizabeth Barrett Browning. In the main studio itself, where Donati received his clients in an atmosphere as polished as an office of a top executive, one hardly realized that it was here that the artist actually painted. His easel was covered with Persian blue velvet, the painting on the easel was already framed, his chair was upholstered in red velvet and on his palette the colors were arranged with the precision of a Byzantine mosaic. In a corner stand were his latest works, framed and ready to be sent off to his next exhibition in Europe or America. He spoke fluent French and English as well as some Spanish and German. “After all”, he said, “you've got to know how to sell a painting to everyone.” His early works indicated a momentary interest in surrealism and abstract art; they were predominantly two dimensional, depending on line and strong color. Donati's painting cannot be classified as belonging to a particular school of painting. Speaking of his artistic inspiration, he said, “I am not conscious of having imitated or been influenced by any one particular painter, but every painting contains the experiences of many previous painters. No artist can paint without being influenced by masters like Raphael, Michelangelo, Titian, and outside Italy by artists like Rembrandt and Renoir.” In fact, in certain of his larger paintings with their Madonna-like figures and extensive landscape backgrounds, you can see the influence of Italian Renaissance painting, both in particular motifs and in the monumentality of conception. But in each case the original inspiration served only as the starting point for a wholly new and creative work of art. Over the years he had worked on the same themes, transforming them with his own poetic vision. His most frequently recurring subjects, the nude, the still-life and the cityscape in part reflect his stylistic preference for rounded forms. “I paint the female form” he said, “not only because it is beautiful, but because it is basically round.” Another favorite subject is the cityscape, and again his taste for curved forms appeared in his choice of two domed churches, the Salute in Venice and Santo Spirito in Florence, both which he painted in innumerable versions in brilliant, vibrating colors. The still-life was his third major theme. Time and again he drew his inspiration from a bowl of fruit, recreating it anew as his own style constantly developed and changed. With Donati, these few themes, which have recurred in the works of great masters in the history of painting, became in each case a new source of pleasure, a fresh way of seeing, and an insight into the creative vision of the artist. His talents were not limited to painting. He was also a sculptor and an excellent photographer who published two books of his photographs in the Famous Cities of the World Series on Venice and Florence. He also held a doctor's degree in economics from the University of Florence.
  • Creator:
    Lazzaro Donati (1926 - 1977, Italian)
  • Creation Year:
    1963
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 36.25 in (92.08 cm)Width: 28.5 in (72.39 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
    good. minor wear. frame has some wear. please see photos.
  • Gallery Location:
    Surfside, FL
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU3826469612
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Buenos Aires (Argentina) - Individual, at Kraft Moreno Gallery 1968 - Punta del Este (Uruguay) - Individual, at the San Rafael Art Gallery 1968 - Montevideo (Uruguay) - Individual, at the Columbia Palace Hotel Art Gallery 1968 - Montevideo (Uruguay) - Individual, at the Rio de la Plata Gallery 1968 - Punta del Este (Uruguay) - Individual, at the Guendalina Gallery 1969 - Punta del Este (Uruguay) - Individual, at the San Rafael Art Gallery 1969 - Porto Alegre RS - Individual, at the North American Brazilian Cultural Institute 1970 - Punta del Este ( Uruguay) - Individual, at the San Rafael Art Gallery 1970 - São Paulo SP - Individual, at the Actualidades da Hebraica Art Gallery 1971 - New York (United States) - Individual, at the Empire Savings Bank Art Gallery 1971 - New York (States United) - Solo, at Charles Mann Gallery 1972 - Long Island (United States) - Solo, at Long Island University 1972 - New York (United States) - Solo, at Saint Bartholomew's Art Gallery 1973 - Englewood (United States) - 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São Paulo SP - Individual, at Galeria de Arte Atualidades da Hebraica 1983 - Guarujá SP - Individual , at Delphin Hotel Gallery 1983 - Santos SP - Individual, at Banco do Brasil 1983 - São Paulo SP - Carlos Kis: oils & paintings in phenolic art, at Galeria Atualidades 1983 - São Paulo SP - Individual, at the First National City Bank Gallery 1983 - São Paulo SP - Kis-Pinturas Recentes, at the State Department of Culture 1984 - Santos SP - Individual, at the Santos Association Gallery 1984 - São Paulo SP - Retrospective, at Sesi Art Gallery 1985 - Sorocaba SP - Individual, at Sesc/Senac Art Gallery 1986 - Joinville SC - Individual, at Joinville Art Museum 1986 - Joinville SC - Individual, at Victor Kursancev Gallery 1987 - Santos SP - Individual, at the Brazil-United States Cultural Center Gallery 1987 - Santos SP - Carlos Kis: paintings, at the United States Brazil Cultural Center 1988 - Santos SP - Individual, at the Santos Doctors Association Gallery 1989 - Santos SP - Individual, at Aliança Francesa 1990 - Sebring (United States) - Individual, at Kissimmee Valley Gallery 1991 - Sarasota (United States) - Individual, at Frank Oeheschlaeger Gallery 1992 - Santos SP - Individual, at CCBEU Gallery 1997 - Santos SP - Individual, at the CCBEU Gallery Collective Exhibitions 1966 - São Paulo SP - Collective at Masp 1970 - Chicago (United States) - Collective at Gilman Galleries 1971 - New York (United States) - Collective at The Weyhe Gallery 1971 - New York (United States) - Brazilian Art, at Iramar Gallery 1972 - Mexico City (Mexico) - Collective, LifShitz Art Gallery 1972 - London (England) - Collective, at Philathea College Museum of Modern Art 1972 - New York (United States) - Collective, at Lexington Art Gallery 1972 - New York (United States) - Latin American Art at Columbia University 1972 - New York (United States) - Spring Arts Festival, at Educational & Cultural Fund. of EI 1972 - New York (United States) - Spring is Here at One World Trade Center New York 1972 - Paris (France) - Paintings & Sculptures, at Le Demeure 1973 - Long Island (United States) - Collective, at Crow's Best Gallery 1975 - São Paulo SP - The theme is the Woman, at Azulão Art Gallery 1976 - São Paulo SP - Collective, at Masp 1976 - Santos SP - Collective, at the Centro Cultural Brasil-United States Gallery 1976 - Santos SP - Collective, at the Santos Art and Decoration Gallery 1976 - Santos SP - Beneficent Exhibition, at the Alhambra Art...
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