Dario Mecatti

Dario Mecatti (Florence, Italy, 1909 - São Paulo, SP, Brazil, 1976) was a renowned painter and draftsman. Around 1927, he began painting posters for his cousin's cinema in Florence, receiving artistic guidance from Camillo Innocenti (1871-1961), though he never enrolled in any formal courses. In 1933, he held his first exhibition in Florence, followed by a trip to North Africa, visiting countries such as Libya, Tunisia, and Algeria, and exhibiting in some of the cities he visited. Between 1936 and 1939, he visited Morocco, producing numerous works depicting local customs.

In 1939, he traveled to São Miguel Island in the Azores, and the following year, he moved to Brazil along with painters Renzo Gori and Silvio Nigri. After arriving in Rio de Janeiro and holding an exhibition at the Brazilian Society of Fine Arts, he traveled through the mining cities of Belo Horizonte, Juiz de Fora, and Ouro Preto before settling in São Paulo at the end of 1940. Between 1941 and 1945, he worked at the Fiorentina Gallery and participated in the 7th São Paulo Art Salon, where he received a small silver medal. He married the painter Maria da Paz in 1945 and built his house-studio in 1946, where he held annual solo exhibitions.

From 1947, he lived and exhibited alternately between Brazil and Europe, holding shows in cities such as Barcelona, Lisbon, Florence, Milan, San Remo, and Berlin, as well as Buenos Aires and Montevideo. Between 1969 and 1976, he was the exclusive artist of Galeria Irlandini in Rio de Janeiro. In 1978, he was posthumously honored at the 42nd São Paulo Art Salon.