Eliano Fantuzzi Biography
Eliano Fantuzzi (Modena, 1909 – Verona, 1987) was an Italian painter. Having moved with his family to Verona, he discovered his passion for painting from an early age. He attended the art high school and then the Cignaroli art academy. His first work, which cannot be found, represents Gaius Muzio Scaevola burning his hand. Dreaming of French impressionism, he moved to Paris in 1924, when expressionism was already taking hold in Europe, which was in contrast, given that the latter expresses the sensations of the artist's soul. In the city he finds small jobs to live on, managing to organize exhibitions to display his works, thanks to which he goes through periods of moderate success. In 1939 he enlisted in the French army and in 1943 he returned to Italy. In 1947 he was sent to the V Quadrennial of Art in Rome. In 1948 he was called by Emir Ibim Saud to decorate the Saudi palace in Taif. He lived with the emir until 1952, frescoing the reception hall. Returning to Rome, he was invited to the VI Rome Quadrennial and the XXVI Venice Biennale. In 1953 he won a purchase prize at the first edition of the Spoleto Prize. In April 1963, at the “Painting in Ciociaria” competition at the Casamari Abbey, he was a member of the jury chaired by Giorgio De Chirico together with Michele Rosa, Felice Ludovisi, Franco Miele, Claudia Refice, Carlo Savini, Giuseppe Selvaggi, Gisberto Ceracchini. Preferring nocturnal settings, his pictorial style is influenced in the themes and chromatic choices of the "Roman school", with Venetian influences. With Giorgio De Chirico he was among the most copied artists in Italy. He died in Verona in 1987.
