Antonio Pagano

In the broad landscape of twentieth-century painting, the figurative realism of Antonio Pagano deserves a place of its own. Born in Messina in 1932, he attended a classical lyceum in South America, where he exhibited several of his works and took part in his first group exhibitions. After his classical studies, Pagano did not seek a master, yet he achieved results that attracted the most demanding critics and the most discerning connoisseurs. The thematic specificity, the innovation of technique, the dynamism of form, the masterly use of light, shadow and perspective, the refined harmony of colour, the elegance of draughtsmanship and the symmetry of line are only some of the salient aspects of Antonio Pagano's vast pictorial corpus that have won public acclaim. His drawings are rich in pathos, absolutely original and evocative. Pagano's figurative realism is particularly evident in a series of studies of changes in the face and expression, which are nothing other than an empathetic understanding of the character of the individual and, in expressing his spirituality, become a mirror of the state of mind experienced.