Carlo Quaglia On Sale

Carlo Quaglia was born in Terni, Rome. He completed his studies in Terni, where he graduated in accounting and violin at the Ricciardi Music Institute. He then entered the Academy of Modena, where he graduated in Economics and Commerce. Commanded as an officer in Libya, in the 1930s he served in Benghazi, Sirte and Derna, where he cultivated his passions, figurative arts and classical music. At the beginning of World War II, in 1940, Quaglia was taken prisoner by the British and transferred to India at Camp 27 of Yol, on the slopes of the Himalayas. He spent five years in prison, devoting himself to the study of the arts, practicing his first painting tests which led him to decide to become a painter. Upon returning to Italy, Quaglia took his leave and began his career as an artist. His was a short and fortunate career that led him to critical and public success. In his painting, we find, at times, the love of the colors of the Roman School which belonged to Scipione, Mario Mafai and Antonietta Raphaël. Quaglia died in Rome in 1970. He held solo exhibitions in Rome, Milan, Terni, Turin, Genoa, Livorno, Paris, New Haven and Montréal, participated in the Rome Quadrennial from the fifth edition of 1948 until the IX edition of 1965–66 and at various editions of the Venice Biennale. He taught from 1955–57 at the Accademia Roma per Stranieri together with Roberto Melli.

Figurative art, as opposed to abstract art, retains features from the observable world in its representational depictions of subject matter. Most commonly, figurative paintings reference and explore the human body, but they can also include landscapes, architecture, plants and animals — all portrayed with realism.

While the oldest figurative art dates back tens of thousands of years to cave wall paintings, figurative works made from observation became especially prominent in the early Renaissance. Artists like Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and other Renaissance masters created naturalistic representations of their subjects.

Pablo Picasso is lauded for laying the foundation for modern figurative art in the 1920s. Although abstracted, this work held a strong connection to representing people and other subjects. Other famous figurative artists include Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud. Figurative art in the 20th century would span such diverse genres as Expressionism, Pop art and Surrealism.

Today, a number of figural artists — such as Sedrick Huckaby, Daisy Patton and Eileen Cooper — are making art that uses the human body as its subject.

Because figurative art represents subjects from the real world, natural colors are common in these paintings. A piece of figurative art can be an exciting starting point for setting a tone and creating a color palette in a room.

Browse an extensive collection of figurative paintings on 1stDibs.