Afro Basaldella's Early Works Reveal Debt to Renaissance Masters in Arezzo

The Galleria Comunale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea in Arezzo, adjacent to the church of San Francesco housing Piero della Francesca's frescoes, is hosting a monographic exhibition on Afro Basaldella (1912–1976). Titled "Afro: Dalla meditazione su Piero della Francesca all’Informale," the show traces the artist's journey from figurative tradition to Informale. It features rarely seen early works, including a faithful copy of Mantegna's Dead Christ, drawings after Rubens, El Greco, and Velázquez, and decorations for Casa Cavazzini in Udine (1938). A major highlight is the cycle of large temperas depicting the Seasons, created for the Albergo delle Rose in Rhodes (now a casino), exhibited in Italy for the first time. The exhibition also includes a sketch and giant cartoons for an unrealized mosaic for the E-42 building in Rome's EUR district. Curated by Marco Pierini with scientific coordinator Alessandro Sarteanesi, the show argues that Afro's figurative phase was a conscious choice, not mere training, establishing a continuity with art history that informed his later coloristic Informale works. The exhibition runs at the Galleria Comunale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Arezzo.