Raffaele Frumenti (1922–2002) - Protagonista e le donne

Raffaele Frumenti (1922 – 2002) born in Rome in Borgo Pio, an ancient papal quarter. A painter by vocation, he showed the capacity to express himself artistically from a young age, when for pure fun he built small theaters, taking care of the scenery and painting the backdrops. His painting is a colorful, melancholic, ironic and engaging world that explodes in the portrayal of the human comedy. The paintings depict figures resembling cardinals who at the same time recall circus clowns, in a world of ghosts that spring from his subconscious, perhaps a legacy of a childhood spent peeking inside the Basilica of St. Peter.

Raffaele Frumenti’s painting, formally, is essentially color painting: a very precious color experienced as a kind of visual music that is orchestrated in variations of timbres and nuances, in a jubilant display of sparkling brushstrokes. A painting of pleasant sensations. He also had the honor of executing a triptych in wall painting in the atrium of the S. Basilio Middle School in Rome, for a commission by the Fine Arts. He created the cover for the book Polizia in azione. He was a teacher of Artistic Drawing at the State Middle School “Benvenuto Cellini.”

His works have been exhibited on several occasions, including a commemorative show in 2005 in Rome, paying homage to the painter of the “Commedia umana,” in collaboration with the poet Franca Mancini, who paired her lyrics with Frumenti’s paintings.