MONGATTI Vairo

Vairo Mongatti, born in Florence in 1934, is a renowned Italian printmaker. His artistic training began at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, where he studied under masters Giuseppe Viviani and Rodolfo Margheri. His decision to devote himself to printmaking was influenced by the fascination Morandi's art held for him, which he encountered at an exhibition in 1963. From then on, he devotedly studied the mark-making of Canaletto, Fattori and Rembrandt, undisputed masters of drawing and printmaking. Vairo Mongatti began his artistic career in 1963, favoring the etching technique. His artworks, comprising about 550 plates, 50 of which were made in the last five years, are mostly landscapes and still lifes, reflecting close observation of reality and careful study of mark-making.
After graduating from the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence in 1965, Vairo Mongatti embarked on a teaching career, first at the Clementina Academy in Bologna and then at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna, where he succeeded Morandi in the chair. In 1994, however, he decided to return to Florence to continue teaching printmaking. There he founded the etching movement Academia nova, which advocates a return to pure, figurative, classical etching.
Mongatti's artistic career has been marked by numerous awards and participation in major national events, including the 4th Giuseppe Polanschi National Printmaking Biennial in Cavaion Veronese in 2009 and the Carmelo Floris Italian Printmaking Biennial in Olzai in 2012/2013. He held a solo exhibition at the Il Bisonte Foundation in Florence in 2011 and took part in group exhibitions such as Printmaking Today: A Journey Through Italy’s Printmaking in Turin. His unique and unmistakable style, combining refined technical mastery with a calligraphic interpretation of reality, has enabled Mongatti to establish himself as one of Italy’s best-known printmakers.
In addition to his intense artistic activity, Vairo Mongatti continues to teach, following in the footsteps of his masters Margheri and Viviani. Although he is invited to the most important art exhibitions, such as the National Printmaking Biennial in Cittadella and the Graphic Arts Biennial in São Paulo, Brazil, Vairo Mongatti always maintains a low profile, letting his work speak for itself.
His artworks, such as those shown in the solo exhibition of 75 etchings at Villa Renatico Martini in 1996, reveal deep introspection and a desire to capture the essence of things. As Francesco Polizzi, then alderman for culture, noted, one of his works, The Study of Etchings from 1990, features the image of an empty chair, a universal invitation to enter the artist’s world, a world of intimacy, sacrifice, and willpower. In Vairo Mongatti’s work, each object acquires a life and essence of its own, thanks to his mastery of black and white tones. His ability to create atmosphere and bring inanimate objects to life makes his artworks true masterpieces.
Today, Vairo Mongatti’s artworks are displayed in museums and public collections, including the Gallery of Modern Art in Turin, the Uffizi Prints and Drawings Department in Florence, the Pauline Library of Vatican City, and the Bertarelli Collection at Palazzo Sforzesco in Milan. Despite his discreet life, Vairo Mongatti’s presence in Italian art is both tangible and intangible, much like the dust motes that appear and disappear in the shaft of light from the window in his studios.