Alfredo Billetto - Mixed media, Erotica

Provenance: Galerie d’Eendt, Amsterdam, between 1960-1987.

Alfredo Billetto (1932-2022) was a contemporary Italian painter, an eclectic and independent figure of the late 20th century in Piedmont. Born in Turin, he began as a teenager with ceramics in the studio of Alberto Nobili. He was artistically trained by masters such as Felice Casorati and Cesare Maggi, and developed a personal style that varied from figurative to abstract. His pictorial research evolved into abstract forms, studies of figures, still lifes, figures and free compositions, characterized by an innovative use of color, material and form, with energetic and often structured brushstrokes. Influenced by long stays in Spain, the Netherlands, East Africa, and France, he incorporated exotic, musical, and lyrical elements into his works, alternating between oil on canvas, tempera, and mixed media. Titles such as 'Forme Ribaltate' (Inverted Forms), 'Tiro a Sogno' (Dream Photo), and still lifes emphasize a free, poetic, and unconventional approach, described by critics as that of a free artist. His work, independent and far removed from dominant trends, reflects a solitary but consistent path, with a strong connection to the Turin tradition (Casorati, Paulucci, and others), reinterpreted in a modern and abstract style. Technique: Mixed media on paper