La Passion des fruits, 1991
Mario Avati (1921-2009) is together with Kyoshi Hasegawa and Yozo Hamaguchi one of the most significant practitioners of our times of the art of mezzotint (manière noire).
After having studied at the École nationale des arts décoratifs in Nice and at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-arts in Paris, Avati started with etching and aquatint, but turned in 1957 to the difficult mezzotint technique, thereby contributing to its revival. His mastery of mezzotint is mainly expressed in his remarkable still lifes, everyday items such as fruits, eggs, flowers and musical instruments. These objects with firm contours bask in the splendor of their own light, or in a mysterious chiaroscuro.