Antonio Serna (1936–2012) - Senza Titolo

Origin

The work comes from the furnishings of the historic Venetian hotel Bonvecchiati, founded in the 1950s, whose paintings were part of the Deana collection. The founder of the hotel was the Venetian entrepreneur and collector Arturo Deana, a longtime cultural promoter of the city, who in 1929 purchased the then famous restaurant "La Colomba," which is notable for counting among its patrons names such as Tosi, Morandi, De Pisis, Chagall, Kokoschka, and Picasso.

These were wonderful years for art in Venice, thanks also to the presence of Peggy Guggenheim. Arturo Deana grew increasingly passionate about painting, helped by his close friendships with the poet Diego Valeri and the gallerist Carlo Cardazzo, founder and owner since 1942 of the Galleria del Cavallino, one of the most renowned Venetian galleries in Italy in the second half of the 20th century.

Deana’s love of art led him to enhance the Bonvecchiati Hotel with part of his private collection, and in 1946 to found the "Premio di Pittura La Colomba" after the interruption due to war of the Venice Biennale. The event was so successful that it was nicknamed the "Little Biennale." In 1953, the "International Competition for a La Colomba Menu" was born, and its first edition saw as many as 300 artists participate.

The Hispano-Mexican painter Antonio Serna (1936–2012) was an artist known for his stylistic evolution from figurative to abstraction, characterized by three decades of intense production in Mexico.

Artistic Phases
His career unfolds mainly in three distinct periods:
- 1960s (Dramatic Realism): His beginnings were influenced by the classical Spanish tradition, with dramatic tones visible in works such as Paso fúnebre and Éxodos.
- Goyesque Themes: Subsequently, he approached the atmospheres of Francisco Goya with the series Aquelarres.
- Evolution to Abstraction: In recent years, his painting underwent a radical transformation, reaching a phase of perfect and refined abstraction. This is the period to which our work belongs.

During his life, Antonio Serna was placed within the context of Spanish artists who emigrated to Latin America. In June 2019, his artistic legacy was celebrated with a retrospective exhibition that publicly displayed for the first time many of his unpublished works. His creations have been auctioned by major international auction houses.

Description

Artwork attributed to the artist’s last period, the abstract one, in excellent condition for this mixed media on canvas with refractory earths, measuring 71x51 cm, part of the Deana collection, with inventory number 37-s on the back.

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