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190 - AFRO BASALDELLA (Udine, 1912 – Zurich, 1976) - Passeggiata a…
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Estimate €12,000 - €16,000
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Description
AFRO BASALDELLA (Udine, 1912 – Zurich, 1976) - Passeggiata archeologica, plate 4. 20th century, 1951 Mosaic on a wooden panel. Dimensions: 93 x 130 cm. Signed in the lower right-hand corner. On the reverse, an inscription in black marker with the title, date and the number ‘PM’. The work is published in *Afro a Ravenna: opere su carta, grafiche, arazzi, mosaici*, edited by Maurizio Calvesi, Stamperia d’Arte, Ravenna, 1991, vol. 4, p. 163. It is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity based on a colour photograph signed by Mario Graziani and a copy of the catalogue in which the work is reproduced. This is an interesting mosaic composition created by Afro Basaldella in 1951, during one of the most productive periods of his artistic career. The work belongs to the series of mosaics developed by the artist in close connection with the cultural environment of Ravenna, a city that played a fundamental role in the renewal of Italian mosaic art during the post-war period. Under the title *Passeggiata archeologica* (Archaeological Stroll), Afro constructs a surface with a distinctly abstract character, in which gestural black lines articulate a dynamic network of forms and chromatic planes. Tones of ochre, gold, red, white and black intertwine, creating a visual rhythm that alludes both to the Byzantine mosaic tradition and to the new international currents of lyrical abstraction. A key figure in 20th-century Italian art and a prominent member of the so-called Roman School, Afro evolved from figurative approaches towards an abstract language of great poetic refinement. During the 1950s, he achieved international recognition thanks to a style of painting based on the freedom of the mark, chromatic sensitivity, and the construction of spaces that are suggested rather than described. His mosaics constitute a particularly significant aspect of his body of work, as they translate the same formal concerns present in his paintings into the tesserae, creating vibrant surfaces where light ...
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About the sale GRAND SUMMER AUCTION OF HAUTE ÉPOQUE AND PRIVATE COLLECTIONS
Auction location
Auction time 06/29/2026 at 4:00 AM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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