Mario Calandri was a renowned Italian painter and engraver, born in 1914 in Turin and passed away in 1993 in the same city. His talent manifested itself from a young age, and he received artistic training at the artistic high schools of both Florence and Turin. In 1932, he began attending the Albertina Academy of Fine Arts in Turin, where he became assistant to Cesare Maggi, one of his teachers.
During this period, Mario Calandri took his first steps as a painter and exhibited his works in Rome and Venice. In 1940, he participated for the first time in the Venice Biennale, an event of great importance in the Italian artistic panorama, and continued to participate in the editions of 1950, 1952 and 1958. He also took part in important exhibitions such as the VIII , IX and of the Engraving at the Accademia Albertina in Turin. When Boglione passed away in 1957, he took over his role as appointee. From 1963 to 1977, he taught at the Accademia Albertina in Turin, leaving an indelible mark on many generations of engravers.
Mario Calandri is recognized as one of the greatest engravers of the 20th century and has achieved a level of excellence in field of graphics. However, he has also proven to be a painter of great quality, capable of exploring and blending inventions and emotions between engraving and painting. He participated in numerous personal exhibitions and exhibited in important national and international exhibitions dedicated to engraved graphics.