ANTONIO SANTACROCE - UNTITLEABLE

This work is part of a series of refined, hand-retouched etchings in which Antonio Santacroce focuses on the study of the human figure. The main interest lies in Santacroce's interpretation of the figures, which reflects his unique aesthetic, a blend of quotationism, surrealism, and metaphysics.

In terms of style, the etching technique, compared to easel work, allows Santacroce to experiment with a more synthetic language. The figures are delineated by an elegant graphic line that explores volumes in a vibrant and dynamic form. The artist's skill lies in the strong personality he imbues these figures with the simplicity of the engraving medium. The work is completed by hand-coloring, expressed through light, harmonious and balanced glazes.

Antonio Santacroce, a multifaceted artist whose work spans painting, engraving, sculpture, and set design, was born in Rosolini in 1945. He was introduced to the world of art through the drawings his father used to illustrate his political satire and through sketches from the stories of the Paladins of France, painted in the workshop of "Don Giuorgi u pitturi," a renowned Sicilian cart painter. In 1958, he attended an evening school of artistic crafts, where he learned mosaic and stained glass techniques. In 1963, he won a gold medal for painting at the Gemmellaro Institute in Catania. In 1969, he moved to Rome, where he met Swiss artists, including J. Gachnang, who introduced him to the world of engraving. After moving to Switzerland, he worked as a laborer at the Wohlen ironworks and, meanwhile, frequented museums in Zurich, Basel, and Bern, also traveling to Amsterdam and Delft. Returning to Catania, in 1971 he studied art history, mathematics, and geometry, exploring the "harmonic proportions" he would later apply in his artistic work. He taught at the Art School in Catania and produced his first etchings and aquatints on a Brissè press, the only one in eastern Sicily at the time. He traveled to Germany and Switzerland, studying great artists such as Bellmer, Kollwitz, Klee, and Kandinsky. Santacroce's art moves from a harmonious construction, derived from the study of ancient classicism, to Klee's structures, embracing their dynamic signature, achieved through continuous superimpositions. In 1989, he taught at the Art School of the Kantonsschule Freudenberg in Zurich, and since 1991, he has lived and worked between Switzerland and Italy.

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