Introduction -Alfredo Del Greco was a prolific and experimental artist who worked on numerous media and techniques during his lifetime. His evolving style and subject matter vary from figurative to abstract, or orbit in between.
The early years: 1940-1960
Del Greco, who is self-taught, focused on traditional technique and subjects in his early works. Often using oil color on canvas, Del Greco explored self-portraits and highly characterized scenes of architecture and figures, which set a foundation to later abstract works. Thick layers of paint and an expressive tone are the defining aspect of Del Greco’s work in this period of exploration.
The Modern era: 1960-1970
During the 60s, a recurring image started emerging in Del Greco’s art: he called this Omino, an Italian term for “little man,” associated with a loving, but characteristically flaccid male figure. Open, empty spaces and geometric elements also started arising in Del Greco’s art from this decade, which also marked a career-making point as he was selected to represent Italy at the Paris Biennale in 1963.
Abstraction and Color: 1970-1980
Del Greco’s paintings got more and more stylized over the years. In the 70s, the empty spaces and landscapes started to become compositions with blocks of vivid colors, imitating multiple layers of three-dimensional planes on canvas with minimal shading or tone. Del Greco was also inspired by Italian surrealists from the early 20th century, adopting the flat, bold effect of mental landscapes and objects by masters like De Chirico.
A Look Within: 1980-1990
Del Greco’s simplified color planes of the 70s gave way to even more abstracted, geometrical compositions and experimentations with shape, figure, and color study. In this period, elements of daily life, Del Greco’s past, and architectural and social structures seem to come together on the canvas: single-tone, sharp edged shapes of geometrical cubes, arch bridges, and sleek lines of perspective drawings. During this decade, Del Greco also experimented with a modernized pointillist technique as he created abstract compositions of illusory layers with small dots of vivid colors and black.
