Arnaldo Ferrari

Born and deceased in São Paulo (1906 - 1974), was a prominent painter, draftsman, and teacher. Following in his father's profession, he initially worked as a decorative painter, specializing in decorative friezes for residences. From 1925 to 1935, he studied decorative arts at the Liceu de Artes e Ofícios de São Paulo. In 1934, he shared a studio with friends at the Santa Helena building, where his friendship with painter Mario Zanini brought him into the circle of the Santa Helena Group. Like Alfredo Volpi, he also dedicated himself to decorations for mansions and occasional paintings.

He attended the free course of painting and drawing at the Escola Nacional de Belas Artes (Enba), where he studied under Enrico Vio from 1936 to 1938. His early work is comparable to that of the Santa Helena Group painters, focusing on landscapes around São Paulo, still lifes, and nudes. Between 1950 and 1959, he joined the Guanabara Group alongside artists such as Thomaz Ianelli, Tomie Ohtake, Tikashi Fukushima, and Oswald de Andrade Filho. In the 1950s, influenced by the work of Joaquín Torres-García, he turned to abstract and constructivist painting.

In 1975, the Paço das Artes in São Paulo hosted a retrospective of his work, with a catalog that included texts by Theon Spanudis, José Geraldo Vieira, and Mário Schenberg, highlighting his significant contribution to Brazilian art.

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Photo: https://acervo.margs.rs.gov.br/artistas-participantes/arnaldo-ferrari/?order=ASC&orderby=date&view_mode=masonry&perpage=12&paged=1&fetch_only=thumbnail%2Ccreation_date%2Ctitle%2Cdescription&fetch_only_meta=&taxquery%5B0%5D%5Btaxonomy%5D=tnc_tax_153&taxquery%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D%5B0%5D=442&taxquery%5B0%5D%5Bcompare%5D=IN