Italian Artist Displays Works Here
Still-life paintings of Salvatore Zito, an Italian painter whose works are according to some critics comparable to Caravaggio, a prominent figure in this sphere, are currently on display at the Italian Cultural Institute here.
The ten simple, yet meticulously detailed oil paintings emphasize arrangement of fruits, baskets, and butterflies. According to Carlo Cignetti, an Italian critic, the backgrounds as well as the objects of Zito are not a mere direct transposition from reality to canvas, but are on the contrary pure pictorial instances without any objective equivalent. The critic contends that the paintings displayed, “notwithstanding the almost manical perfection in all details, are not at all literal transposition of a harmonious unity of objects arranged like models in that way by the painter in his studio, but are projections of the artist’s eye.”
According to one veteran Ethiopian artist, however, the works of Zito are “naturalistic and presisely rendered compositions.” Either way, nobody denies that the paintings are a feast to the eyes and inspirational to young artist. Executed on oval and rectangular canvasses, the still-life paintings of the Italian artist are incredibly exacting.
The 28-year-old Italian painter and restorer had previously displayed his works in Kenya and intends to exhibit in Spain as well.
Arefyne Hagos
