Mario avati (1921-2009), alligator, black and white, 1970

Mario AVATI (1921-2009) Alligator Mezzotint print on paper Titled Alligator in pencil in the center Signed and dated 70 in pencil lower right (made in December 1970) Numbered Q/Y in pencil lower left In its neutral mat Rare trial proof for this mezzotint plate on copper (mezzotint technique) measuring 216 X 218mm (image size) known in 6 states. Our test proof is a print not referenced in the catalogue raisonné of n°430 which does not mention the numbering on Y. The engraving is referenced in the Catalogue raisonné of the artist at n°430 (p.76, Mario Avati 1968-1975) Dimensions of the image: 21.6 X 21.8cm Dimensions of the sheet: 46 X 36cm Total dimensions with the mat: 50 X 40cm Mario Avati is a French painter and engraver born on May 27, 1921 in Monaco and died in Paris on February 26, 2009, active in Paris. After studying at the École Nationale des Arts Décoratifs in Nice and as a student of Édouard Goerg at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, Mario Avati practices, from 1947, all engraving techniques. In the late 1950s, he turned almost exclusively to mezzotint, first in black and white, then, from 1969, in color. He contributed to reviving this graphic technique as a medium for artistic expression in the 20th century, just like Yozo Hamaguchi and Kiyoshi Hasegawa. In 1980, the postal administration reproduced, on the occasion of Stamp Day, the engraving Letter to Mélie. Mario Avati was a member of the Society of French Painters-Gravers and the National Committee of French Engraving. Classically inspired, Avati's work revolves almost exclusively around still life—fruit, flowers, staged objects—or animals, with a treatment of great geometric rigor and which does not lack, on occasion, a touch of humor and wit that we find even in the title.