Dino Ferrari - Old Bishop

1.      Old Bishop

Dino Ferrari

1973

Oil on canvas

60x50 cm, 75x65 cm with frame

Signed and dated lower right and on the back

Having begun his artistic career at the young age of 11 in his hometown of Ascoli Piceno, he opened his first studio at 20. After a hiatus during World War II, he became a well-known and esteemed painter not only in the Marche region (many churches in the region contain his works) but also in Rome, where he had gone to further his studies. There, he received numerous commissions from high-society families. One of his paintings was later purchased by the Pitti Palace in Florence, where it remains today.

He died in 2000, and in 2014, on the centenary of his death, a conference was held in Ascoli Piceno, where he was awarded a medal from the President of the Republic. A street in the same city was also named after him: "Largo Dino Ferrari/ painter / 1914 – 2000."

The painting in question reflects his signature style: metallicism, a fusion of figurative and abstract. A frenetic brushstroke, it's sometimes referred to as social realism.

On the back: "I declare that this canvas was painted by me – Dino Ferrari – Vecchio Vescovo 1973." Signature and authenticated by the artist and the d'Agostini art gallery.