Figura Distesa Sculpture

William Tode is one of the greatest protagonists of contemporary art and present on Artprice(search William Tode on ). His cultural interests range from visual arts to literature and sculpture. For almost thirty years, he has been one of the most committed and important artists of the Italian Neo-Realism, especially concerning frescoes, He is considered to be one of the last great wall painters, the heir of the teachings of the Tiepolos. He was born in a town near Mantova in Italy. When he was fourteen he attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Modena but for two years only, under the guidance of Master L. Spazzapan, one of the greatest Italian protagonists of Abstract Expressionism. The boy discovered the French painting of the impressionists, but he was especially captivated by Cézanne, Gauguin and Van Gogh, with their colours and shapes. In 1954, soon after moving to Rome with his family, Tode lost his mother, who was only forty-two years old at the time. Art and school were the only areas where he could find comfort for his great pain. In a few months, he worked hard and was able to prepare a five-year-long program. His final dissertation on History of Art was on Michelangelo's architecture. His love for Piero della Francesca, Masaccio, L. Signorelli and Michelangelo will be an important and endless source of inspiration for the young artist’s forthcoming development of aesthetics and work, also in terms of being a "frescante",fresco painter. After that, William started his adventure at the French Academy. Just seventeen, he passed the entry exams by painting a wide selection of nudes by heart, in front of the examination board and in just three hours. In Paris, he met Giovanni March, with whom he became friendly. Thanks to this friendship, he had the opportunity of attending the leading European art printing house, "Le Mercier Charbonnel", where he could test all the possibilities offered by graphics techniques, and realized many lithographic stones. He frequently worked with Georges Braque and Gino Severini. One day, on 16 January 1956, while William was working on a Maternità (Maternity), his friend Giovanni March came over to the printing house, together with the great master Picasso, who liked the young artist and invited him to pay him a visit at his studio. From 1975 to 1977, he created one of his masterpieces, the "Fucilazione dei patrioti baschi",(The Shooting of the Basque Patriots), a large oil on canvas, size 3,8x2,70 mt.