Silvio Loffredo

Silvio Loffredo (b. 1920) is a painter and graphic artist born in Paris of Italian parents.

From 1949 to 1954, he exhibited in one-man shows and took part in notable group exhibitions in Paris and Geneva. In 1953 and in 1954, he studied with Oskar Kokoschka in Salzburg. Eight years later he was invited to participate at the 31th Venice Biennale. In 1973, the Institute and Museum of the History of Science in Florence commissioned him to produce twenty pieces – paintings, drawings and engravings – which remained on permanent display at the museum. Loffredo’s graphic work is collected in the publication Loffredo, Etchings 1946-83, Galleria Pananti, Florence, 1983.

Silvio Loffredo’s paintings are often inspired by religious themes or ecclesiastical buildings. His studio on the Piazza del Duomo in Florence is located across the street from the glorious 11th Century Baptistery with its beautiful geometric black and white panels. The Romanesque building appears frequently and in many colors in Loffredo’s work and often serves as background for religious figures such as St. Francis, priests, saints, prayers, the Angel of Death.

His work is also influenced by the paintings of Ottone Rosai, a Florentine artist, who had been part of the Futurist circle early on, and then proceeded to paint the life of the working people in his native city, using earthy colors and expressive brushstrokes.

Loffredo himself favors dark tones in many of his paintings, but bright incandescent colors also appear in paintings such as White cats (1999) or the fervent canvas, Apparition (1996), which transmits its aura of spiritual mystery to the observant viewer. In his Portrait of the Saint (1998) Loffredo comes close to the penetrating portraits of his one-time teacher, Oskar Kokoschka.

He exhibits throughout Europe, especially in France, Italy and Switzerland. Besides being an acclaimed painter, Loffredo is also a film director.