| Title: |
The Violin |
| Artist: |
Avati, Mario (Monaco, 1921 - Paris) |
| Date: |
1964 |
| Medium: |
Original Mezzotint |
| Printer: |
Mario Avati |
| Note: |
Mario Avati: Not many masters of modern art have
dedicated most of their artistic talents to the hazardous medium of the
mezzotint. From the rocking of the plate to the scraping and burnishing
to bring light out of the darkness, the mezzotint has rightly been called
the most delicate and complex of all art methods. Yet no other art can
give birth to such magnificent areas of light and shade as this purely
tonal medium. The leading twentieth century artists of the mezzotint are
D. E. Galinis, Yozo Hamaguchi, Kiyoshi Hasagawa and Mario Avati. |
| |
From an Italian background, Mario Avati was born in Monaco
and studied art in Paris. His first one man exhibitions were in Paris,
where he has resided for most of his career. By 1955, Mario Avati had achieved
an international reputation with major exhibitions of his art in New York,
Tokyo, London and Los Angeles. Avati's American connections are well known:
he has worked with the prestigious Tamarind Workshop and the Museum of
Modern Art in New York owns one of the most extensive collections of his
prints. |
| |
Scholars have often written of Surrealist elements within
Mario Avati's art. Jean Adhemar, in fact, wrote that Avati's mezzotints express,
"a strange and devastated universe." * Avati is famous for combining seemingly
incongruous forms to achieve strongly evocative imagery, and from this
standpoint his art is related to Surrealism. Even in his more realistic
animal studies and still lifes, the imagery is permeated by mystical elements
derived from the unique spacial relationships of the mezzotint medium. |
| |
As well, Mario Avati is an extremely meticulous artist. He rocks
his own mezzotint plates -- sometimes up to twenty-four hours -- in order
to achieve the most satisfactory, velvety tones. He is most particular
about papers (favouring a pure rag paper with light sizing) and takes
complete charge of the artistic process by printing his own plates. In
a 1976 essay upon the mezzotint, Avati even had words of warning to collectors:
"The fragility of the mezzotint is its only weak point. Collectors must
be warned to handle these prints even more carefully than any others,
for the slightest scratch damages the print beyond repair. Unfortunately,
the deep velvety surface easily attracts exploring fingers which inevitably
leave a shiny streak across the velvet." ** |
| Edition: |
During the 1960's and 1970's, Mario Avati created original, miniature
mezzotints to commemorate the New Year and as gifts for his close circle
of friends. The Violin is one of these annual works of art.
Although not numbered, these miniature masterpieces are known to exist
in editions of less than one hundred. |
| Provenance: |
The Violin hails from the estate of Maurice Bloch. Bloch was a major New
York City art dealer and a personal friend of Mario Avati. Avati's first
New York exhibition was held at Bloch's gallery. |
| Raisonne: |
PASSERON 495 |
| Reference: |
* Jean Adhemar, Twentieth Century Graphics, London,
Elek Books Limited, 1971, p. 240. |
| |
** Fritz Eichenberg, The Art of the Print, New York,
Harry N. Abrams. 1976, pp. 358 - 360. |
| Size: |
1 3/4 X 3 7/8 (Sizes in inches are approximate,
height preceding width of plate-mark or image.) |
| |
Matted with 100% Archival Materials |
| Condition: |
Printed upon hand-made, rag paper and with full margins
as created by Avati on the above date. The Violin is a beautifully
printed, velvety and in excellent condition throughout. Signed
in red pen by the artist under the plate-mark. This original mezzotint
represents a superb example of the famous modern art of Mario Avati. |
| Price: |
Sold - The price is no longer available. |
| Important Information: |
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