Bruno Cassinari (1912–1992) was a significant Italian painter and sculptor of the post-war period, known for his distinctive style blending elements of Cubism and Expressionism.
- Cassinari is born October 29, 1912, in Piacenza, Italy.
- He began artistic training at the local art school in Piacenza. and graduated from the Brera Academy in Milan in 1938.
- He moved to Paris in 1947.
- Cassinari met Pablo Picasso in 1947. Picasso was impressed by his work. He invited Cassinari to showcase at the Antibes Museum of Art in 1949.
- He spent time in Antibes (1949-1952), encountering artists like Chagall, Braque, Eluard, and Cocteau, enriching his style with Mediterranean light.
- In 1952, Cassinari received the Grand Prize in Painting at the 26th Venice Biennale. He was recognized for his Cubist-inspired works “The Lemon” and “Still Life in Pink.”
Arts and Politics
- Cassinari was involved with the “Corrente” anti-fascist art magazine and movement in Milan (pre-1945), challenging prevailing art styles.
- In 1945, he co-published “Il ’45” focusing on the intersection of art and politics.
- From 1946 onwards, he was a co-founder and prominent member in the “New art Front” (Il Fronte Nuovo delle Arti). This postwar Italian artists’ group emerged in the late 1940s. It played a significant role in navigating the transition of Italian painting from Fascism to the Cold War era.
- Cassinari was Initially influenced by Fauvism and Expressionism. Later he incorporated significant Cubist elements after his meeting with Picasso.
- He preferred to define his art as “abstract-concrete,” aiming to express concrete subjective sensations rather than pure abstraction.
Key works
- Among his key works famous portraits, including Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida (1955) and Italian ballerina and actress Carla Fracci (1958).
- Critics praised him for his unique synthesis of Cubist structural rigor with Expressionist emotional intensity and free brushwork.
- He was recognized as a leading figure in post-war Italian art, re-energizing the artistic landscape.
- He died in March 26, 1992, in Milan, Italy.
- According to Mutual art, Bruno Cassinari’s work realized auction prices ranging from 10 USD to 71,681 USD. The variations depend on the size and medium of the artwork.
- Since 1999, the record price for this artist at auction is 71,681 USD for Autobiografia di un pittore (Atelier). It was sold at Christie’s Milan in 2009.
*(This postcard is part of a vast collection. An artist amassed it over sixty years ago and stored it in a wooden box).
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