Lillie Road Arts and Antiques Quarter

Still life

Signed on front 'Breddo'.
Oil on canvas, 70 x 50 cm.
 

Gastone Breddo was born in Padua in 1915 and spent most of his life in Venice and Tuscany.
Trained as painter and engraver in the Accademia di belle arti in Venice and Bologna, he took part to the Italian art scene in various ways; since 1936 he exhibited in prestigious venues, wrote essays, and joined panel discussions at a number of conferences.
From 1937 to 1939 he contributed with writings and drawings to the magazine ‘Gioventu’ Italica’.
From 1938 to 1940 he wrote for the magazine ‘Il Bo’ (Padua). In 1940 and 1941 his writings were published on ‘L’architrave’ (Bologna). He was a collaborator in the magazines ‘La strada’ and ‘Michelangelo’ in Florence.

In 1944 and 1945 he contributed to ‘Piccola galleria’ published in Venice, where he met Arturo Martini, Giovanni De Pisis, Giorgio Morandi, Renato Birolli, Osvaldo Licini, Bruno Saetti and Virgilio Guidi.
In 1947 and 1948 he worked for ‘Gazzetta Veneta’ and was the author of several monographs published by ‘Lettere e arti’ (Venice), ‘Le tre venezie’ (Padua) and ‘L’ultima’ (Florence).

Gastone Breddo exhibited his works at all the editions of the Venice Biennale from 1940 to 1958; in 1958 he had a room of his own and won one of the National prizes.  He won the ‘Jacini’ prize at the Michetti context in 1953.
He exhibited many times at the Rome Quadriennale and in various National museums in Italy including those in Rome, Florence, Venice, Bologna, Trieste, Turin, Milan, Padua, Taranto, Bari, Cortina D'Ampezzo, La Spezia, Spontorno, Lucca, and in the Vatican City.

Together with Sassu, Ajmone, Cantatore, Capogrossi, Gentilini and Saetti, Breddo illustrated the book ‘Uomo del mio tempo’ written by Salvatore Quasimodo and published by Sommaruga Edizioni Verona, in 1963.
In 1963 he became professor at the Liceo Artistico in Venice; at the end of the year he moved on to teach painting and then to become director (from 1964 to 1983) at the Florence Accademia di Belle Arti.
In 1965 Breddo worked at the cover of the book ‘Sull’orlo di noi’ by Dino Carlesi; in 1973 illustrated ’50 anni di poesia’ by Eugenio Montale.

Works by him are currently in important public and private collections including the Collezione Verzocchi at the Pinaocoteca Civica di Forli, in the Casa museo Boschi Di Stefano in Milan and in the Cariplo Bank Collection.

Breddo died in Calenzano (Florence) in 1991.