Vairo Mongatti biography

Vairo Mongatti, born in Florence in 1934, is a famous Italian engraver. His artistic training began at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence, where he was a student of masters Giuseppe Viviani and Rodolfo Margheri. His decision to dedicate himself to engraving was influenced by the fascination he felt for the artwork of Morandi, which he encountered at an exhibition in 1963. Since then, he has devotedly studied the marks of Canaletto, Fattori, and Rembrandt, undisputed masters of drawing and engraving. Vairo Mongatti began his artistic career in 1963, preferring the etching technique. His artworks, which include about 550 plates, of which 50 were made in the last five years, are mostly landscapes and still lifes, reflecting a careful observation of reality and a meticulous study of the mark.
After graduating from the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence in 1965, Vairo Mongatti embarked on a teaching career, first at the Clementina in Bologna and then at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Bologna, where he inherited Morandi's chair. Since 1994, however, he decided to return to Florence to continue teaching the art of engraving. Here he founded the etching movement Academia nova, which proposes a return to pure, figurative, and classical etching.
Mongatti's artistic career has been marked by multiple recognitions and participation in important national events, including the 4th National Biennial of Engraving Giuseppe Polanschi in Cavaion Veronese in 2009 and the Biennial of Italian Engraving Carmelo Floris in Olzai in 2012/2013. He held a solo exhibition at the Fondazione Il Bisonte in Florence in 2011, and participated in group exhibitions such as Grafica oggi. Viaggio nell’Italia dell’incisione in Turin. His unique and unmistakable style, which combines refined technical mastery and a calligraphic interpretation of reality, has allowed Mongatti to establish himself as one of the most well-known engravers in Italy.
In addition to his intense artistic activity, Vairo Mongatti continues to dedicate himself to teaching, following in the footsteps of his masters Margheri and Viviani. Although invited to the most important art events, such as the National Biennial of Engraving in Cittadella and the Graphic Biennial in São Paulo, Brazil, Vairo Mongatti always maintains a low profile, letting his work speak for itself.
His artworks, like those exhibited in the solo exhibition of 75 etchings at Villa Renatico Martini in 1996, reveal a deep introspection and a desire to capture the essence of things. As Francesco Polizzi, then cultural assessor, pointed out, in one of his works, The Study of Etchings from 1990, the image of an empty chair emerges, as a universal invitation to enter the artist's world, a world of intimacy, sacrifice, and will. In Vairo Mongatti's artwork, every object acquires its own life, its own essence, thanks to his mastery in using tones of black and white. This ability to create atmosphere and bring inanimate objects to life makes his artworks true masterpieces of artwork.
Today, Vairo Mongatti's artworks are exhibited in museums and public collections, including the Galleria d'Arte Moderna in Turin, the Gabinetto Disegni e Stampe degli Uffizi in Florence, the Biblioteca Paolina of the Vatican City, and the Raccolta Bertarelli at Palazzo Sforzesco in Milan. Despite his discreet life, Vairo Mongatti's presence in Italian art is palpable and intangible, just like the dust that appears and disappears in the blade of light from the window of his studios.