Pietro Bestetti Biography
Pietro Bestetti was born in Mantua in 1943, and is an eclectic artist who can boast many skills, including those of painter, sculptor, graphic designer, photographer and journalist. Since he was a child, he demonstrated a strong artistic streak, which led him to enroll in the Milan Music School in 1951, where he studied until his final exam. Subsequently, he turned towards the figurative arts, enrolling in 1957 at the Institute for Graphic Arts in Milan, where he studied printing techniques in depth, such as hand and machine composition, Linotype and Monotype and photoengraving. Since 1960, he studied painting and frescoes at the Scuola Superiore d'Arte in Milan, under the guidance of Gian Giacomo Dal Forno, and founded a laboratory of artistic experiences together with his friend and fellow student Fabrizio Mancinelli, where he experimented with etching and sculpture techniques with materials such as stone, wood, bronze and photography. He published his first works in newspapers such as Il Pioppo and La Domenica del Corriere. In the 1970s, he studied Constitutional Law and joined the Editorial Group of Corriere Della Sera as editor. As art director, he oversaw the image of the country's first business weekly, Il Mondo, and other publications from the same publisher, designing many of the covers. He has successfully created projects for new periodical publications with national circulation. In this period he was registered in the Register of the National Order of Italian Professional Journalists. Bestetti's artistic production evolved in five periods, each characterized by the use of different materials such as sand, gauze, acrylics (oil), wood and bronze (plaster and terracotta). His artistic production is not for sale and the exhibitions held, promoted by various bodies, have always and only been intended to be informative and cultural in nature. The works are intended for donations, foundations, museums. Bestetti's long career, which combines art and journalism, has always had a particular focus on social and intellectual issues. His skill in watercolour, his very personal and unmistakable style for sobriety and elegance, the refined technique of his compositions and his ability to describe financial problems in a lightning-fast manner have made him one of the greatest exponents of contemporary graphics. His critical and non-conformist analysis of Italian society was effective and incisive, resolved with civil commitment, irony and subtle allusions.
