Mario Calandri (Turin, 1914–1993) was one of the most important Italian engravers of the 20th century, as well as a painter and teacher. His graphic art is distinguished by his extraordinary mastery of intaglio techniques and a poetic language capable of transforming everyday subjects into images suspended between reality and imagination. Animals, flowers, shells, objects, and figures take center stage in compositions where the etched line creates atmospheres of great evocative power. Trained at the Albertina Academy in Turin, Calandri devoted much of his career to teaching engraving, helping shape numerous generations of artists.
His training in Florence and Turin
Mario Calandri was born in Turin on October 16, 1914.
He undertook his first art studies in Florence and Turin.
In 1932, he returned to his hometown permanently and attended the Albertina Academy of Fine Arts.
He studied painting with Cesare Maggi, graduating in 1939.
His academic training enabled him to develop his skills in drawing and composition.
His relationship with Marcello Boglione, a leading figure in the revival of the Albertina Academy’s engraving school, was particularly important.
Boglione became a key influence on the development of his graphic art.
His early years and the Venice Biennale
In 1940, Calandri took part in the Venice Biennale.
During the same period, he received recognition in a national fresco competition.
His early work therefore included painting and mural techniques.
The Second World War partially interrupted his artistic career.
After the war, Calandri resumed his work, gradually focusing on engraving.
His training in painting nevertheless continued to influence the way he constructed images.
His relationship with Marcello Boglione
After the war, Calandri became Marcello Boglione’s assistant at the Albertina Academy.
The experience allowed him to explore engraving techniques systematically.
Working on the plate requires precision, sensitivity, and knowledge of materials.
Calandri developed a technical mastery that would become one of the distinctive features of his work.
After Boglione’s death in 1957, he succeeded him as a teacher of engraving.
In 1963, he was appointed to a chair at the Albertina Academy, where he remained until 1977.
Etching
The etching technique is one of Calandri’s main expressive tools.
The process makes it possible to create lines by etching a metal plate.
The varying intensity of the marks makes it possible to create surfaces and tonal values.
Calandri uses this possibility with particular sensitivity.
The lines do not merely describe objects.
They help create atmospheres and spatial relationships.
Technical precision coexists with considerable freedom of invention.
Aquatint and drypoint
Alongside etching, Calandri also uses aquatint and drypoint.
Aquatint makes it possible to obtain tonal surfaces through an etching process different from that of a simple engraved line.
Drypoint, by contrast, produces marks characterized by a particular softness, due to the burrs raised during direct engraving.
These techniques offer complementary expressive possibilities.
Calandri uses them to create images in which light seems to emerge gradually from the surface.
Knowledge of printmaking techniques becomes an integral part of his poetics.
Animals and nature
Among the most characteristic subjects in Calandri's work are animals.
Fish, crustaceans, birds, and other creatures are depicted with an extremely refined mark.
The artist observes natural structures, but does not seek merely to provide a scientific description.
Animals become presences imbued with a particular poetic intensity.
Their arrangement in space can suggest unexpected relationships.
The image maintains a balance between precision and imagination.
Flowers, shells, and objects
Calandri also devotes numerous artworks to flowers, shells, and everyday objects.
The compositions often take on the character of poetic still lifes.
The subject is isolated and observed closely.
The object's surface offers different possibilities for treating the mark.
A shell can be rendered through fine lines and tonal variations.
A flower can become the centre of a composition in which the lightness of the form contrasts with the precision of the engraving.
The fantastical dimension
One of the most original aspects of Calandri's work is his ability to transform real elements into images with a fantastical character.
His artistic research does not amount to purely naturalistic representation.
Objects can take on symbolic meanings.
The relationships between forms suggest suspended situations.
The precision of the engraving lends credibility to images that also belong to the realm of imagination.
This balance between reality and invention is one of the fundamental characteristics of his artistic language.
Awards
Calandri takes part in numerous national and international events.
He returns to the Venice Biennale in 1950 and 1952.
In 1958, he presents a solo exhibition at the Biennale.
In 1960, he receives the Engraving Prize at the 8th Rome Quadriennale.
In 1968, he receives the International Printmaking Prize at the Florence Biennale.
These awards confirm his standing in contemporary Italian printmaking.
Teaching at the Accademia Albertina
Teaching is a fundamental part of his career.
Calandri teaches printmaking techniques in Turin for many years.
His method combines knowledge of technical processes with attention to their creative potential.
Mastery of the plate is not considered an end in itself.
It is a tool through which the artist can develop a personal style.
His teaching contributes to the continuity of the Italian printmaking tradition.
Works in collections
Calandri's work is documented in important collections dedicated to 20th-century art.
The De Fornaris Foundation preserves artworks such as Le piote (mushrooms), Octopus and Crab, Shells, and a group of twelve prints made between 1951 and 1979.
These works testify to the variety of subjects and the continuity of his artistic research.
In 1987, the Accademia Albertina dedicates a retrospective exhibition to the artist.
Artistic legacy
Mario Calandri dies in Turin on March 29, 1993.
His work represents a fundamental contribution to the history of 20th-century Italian printmaking.
His mastery of etching, aquatint, and drypoint is combined with a deeply personal poetic sensibility.
Through animals, flowers, and objects, Calandri demonstrated how original printmaking can transform ordinary elements into images of great intensity.
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