Antonio Asturi (1904-1986) - Boscoreale

Beautiful painting by Antonio Asturi (Vico Equense (NA) 1904 – 1986)

Boscoreale (Naples)

Tempera on cardboard

Dating: October 1951

Signed, dated and titled at the bottom left: Asturi a. Boscoreale 8 Oct 1951

With frame and mat

Dimensions of the painting: 31.5 x 22.5 cm

Dimensions of the frame: 45.0 x 37.0 cm

Excellent condition (see photos)


ATTENTION:
Shipping to the United States is not available because in Italy, due to the introduction of duties, there is no courier that allows sending goods to a private individual

Antonio Asturi (Vico Equense, November 2, 1904 – Vico Equense, January 3, 1986) was an Italian painter.
He was the eldest of four children of Gregorio Asturi, who died when Antonio was ten, and of Anna Albano. He had a brother named Francesco and two sisters, Stella and Maria.[1]

Self-taught artist, after a brief Futurist phase that he described as a detour, he remained faithful to figurative painting, deeply influenced by the personality of the Neapolitan master Antonio Mancini.

Antonio Mancini posed for him in 1930, shortly before Mancini's death, and was so enthusiastic that he signed the portrait: Long live the man who made him. An elegant portraitist, he also depicted Vincenzo Migliaro, who signed his portrait with a compliment! as well as the philosopher Benedetto Croce, Salvador Dalí, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, James Ensor, Arturo Tosi, Giorgio de Chirico, Luigi Einaudi, Arturo Toscanini, Giovanni Papini.

In addition to oils, he also used tempera, ink and sanguine. Among the favored subjects, besides portraits, is the theme of motherhood. In the early period of production up to the late 1950s he predominantly used oil on canvas or cardboard, signing in the color. Public and critical success led him to increase his production, moving to the tempera technique, which allowed him to work more quickly. In an interview he stated that he had created almost ten thousand works. A very prolific master, he produced thousands of works often on recycled materials, train tickets, and covers of magazines. The theme of the wheelchair, a subject much requested abroad, is famous worldwide. On May 20, 2016, the Municipality of Vico Equense dedicated to him the MAAAM (Museo Aperto Antonio Asturi) city museums. A catalog raisonné, 30 years after his death, Antonio Asturi the Painter of Light, De Rosa Editore. Some of his works are safeguarded within the episcopal palace.