Dario Mecatti (1909-1976) - An Italian Orientalist Painter - Landscape of Tunisia

  

Orientalist Painting (oil on wood panel), dating from the 1930s and signed D. It is a landscape representing, as inscribed on the back, a corner in Tunisia.

There are other annotations that seem to specify the locations but which I have not been able to decipher. We see a nomad camp, probably Berbers. More specifically, there are two tents located near a dirt path created by the movements of men. In the distance, three hay bales with a wooden frame in the center can be seen. It is evident that these bales are truly imposing.

Finally, the scene is animated by a woman seen from the back, in the center, climbing the path. The composition is created with a palette of bright colors bringing real warmth and a broad gesture with a loaded brush in some places, adding relief and life.

He was born in Florence, Italy. In his youth, he took his first steps as an artist by creating posters for the cinema owned by his cousin in Florence.

He did not attend any art school and was self-taught. In 1933, at the age of 24, he held his first exhibition in his hometown and then immediately traveled to North Africa. He discovered Libya, Tunisia, and Algeria (this painting was created during this decade) and organized exhibitions in several cities in the Maghreb. Between 1936 and 1939, he stayed in Morocco. In 1939, perhaps due to the instability in Europe, he went to the Azores and then to South America, to Brazil, with Renzo Gori and Silvio Nigri, Italian painters he had befriended.

He exhibited at the Brazilian Society of Fine Arts in Rio de Janeiro and toured the country. During the war, he worked for the Galeria Fiorentina, participated in the 7th Salon of Fine Arts in Sao Paulo, and received a silver medal.

After the war, he married a Brazilian painter, Maria Da Paz. He then permanently set up his studio in Brazil. However, he regularly traveled back and forth to Europe because he exhibited there regularly and his work was as successful in Europe as it was in Brazil. Towards the end of his life, he was exclusively exhibited at the Galeria Irlandini in Rio de Janeiro, but two years after his death, in 1978, he was honored at the 42nd Salon of Fine Arts in Sao Paulo. Mecatti's works have very high values depending on the subjects.

Dimensions: - 60 cm / 50 cm. 72 cm / 62 cm (frame). Note: the painting is generally in good condition!

However, I must point out that there are small wears on the wooden support (small holes visible in photos 4, 5, 6, and 7). But objectively, this does not clearly affect the reading of the work and is only noticeable when one is very close to the painting. I am available if you have any questions. More photos available on request.

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