Harry Bilson

Vibrant Harlequin Portrait by Harry Bilson

c. 21st Century

Lazzaro Donati (Italian, 1926-1977) Untitled (Abstract Woman), Mid-20th Century Oil on board 20 x 16 in. Framed: 25 3/4 x 21 7/8 in. Signed lower right Lazzaro Donati (1926-1977) was born in Florence in 1926 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. Mr. 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. Donati was a born host with a warm welcome, an elegant man who possessed enormous charm a good nature and a keen sense of humor. Apparently shy, he preferred to speak on subjects extraneous to his art, purposely distracting you from his paintings, then leading you back to them, tactfully and without pretension. 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." He had no sympathy for the "drip and splash" studios of his contemporaries, preferring to keep his studio tidy and spotless. "Painting is a matter of precision", he said, "If a painter can't put his paint where he wants it to go, I don't see how he can call himself a painter. For me it is absolutely necessary to control the paint." When asked to reveal the technique he used to achieve the enamel-like finish typical of his paintings he answered, "That is a secret between me and my butler. Actually, most of my paintings are done by him!" But in fact behind the façade, Donati was a serious craftsman who devoted to his painting as a way of life and means of expression. From the beginning of his career, his paintings revealed a striving for perfection and continual research in problems of style and technique. His early works indicated a momentary interest in surrealism and abstract art; they were predominantly two dimensional, depending on line and strong color. But by 1958, with his painting The Lady with a Fan...

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