WATTS INDEXThe canonical database of visual culture

Artists›Mario Avati

Mario Avati

Italian, 1921

WA-00026027

Monaco

Representation

None documented

Institutional Exhibitions

Works in Collection

Assets Indexed

Authority-backed Facts

Publications Referenced

60%

Profile Completeness

Cultural Positioning

Influence Graph

No influence edges encoded yet.

Authority Records (1)

MoMA

Field Verification (4 fields)

4 cross-verified · 0 single-source

BiographyMoMA· 93%✓
Birth yearMoMA· 93%✓
LocationMoMA· 93%✓
NationalityMoMA· 93%✓

Source Registry (1)

MoMA bulk 2026-05-04https://www.moma.org/artists/246
Tier 1 · Institutional92%

About

Why this artist matters now

Mario Avati was an Italian printmaker and photographer known for his mezzotint technique, which he employed to create intimate still lifes and interior scenes with a distinctly poetic sensibility. Active from the postwar period onward, he developed a signature approach to the tonal subtleties of mezzotint, producing works that emphasized light, shadow, and domestic objects rendered with almost tactile precision. His practice bridged traditional printmaking and photographic observation, establishing him as a significant figure in twentieth-century European printmaking.

Source: Moma Bulk 2026 05 04 · Trust score: 92% · Updated 1mo ago

Graph relationships

Taste overlap and adjacency

Movement

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Medium

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Related Artists

6 in graph

Institutional

Museum Collections

Museum of Modern ArtNew York The Metropolitan Museum of Art Art Institute of Chicago

Canonical record

Artworks (19)

Les Artichauts de Los Angeles

1967 · Lithograph

composition and sheet: 21 3/16 × 23 13/16" (53.8 × 60.5 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Les Artichauts de Los Angeles

1967 · Lithograph with varnish additions

composition and sheet: 21 1/4 × 23 7/8" (54 × 60.6 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Lemon, Bowl and Fruit-Dish (Citron, Bol et Compotier)

1967 · Lithograph

composition and sheet: 21 1/8 × 23 13/16" (53.7 × 60.5 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Lemon, Bowl and Fruit-Dish (Citron, Bol et Compotier)

1967 · Lithograph

composition and sheet: 21 1/4 × 23 13/16" (54 × 60.5 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Valentine for Tamarind (Valentine pour Tamarind)

1963 · Lithograph

composition: 10 3/16 × 15 1/8" (25.9 × 38.4 cm); sheet: 15 1/16 × 22 3/8" (38.3 × 56.8 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

No (Non)

1963 · Lithograph

composition: 14 1/4 × 11 7/16" (36.2 × 29 cm); sheet: 22 5/16 × 14 15/16" (56.7 × 37.9 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

WattsOS

Still life with half of a lemon

1958 · Mezzotint

Plate: 8 7/8 × 11 15/16 in. (22.5 × 30.3 cm) Sheet: 13 9/16 × 18 1/2 in. (34.5 × 47 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

WattsOS

Plate with 4 techniques

1958 · Soft-ground etching, engraving, stipple engraving, and drypoint on cream wove paper

Plate: 9 3/4 × 8 1/8 in. (24.7 × 20.6 cm) Sheet: 18 7/16 in. × 14 in. (46.8 × 35.5 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Elephant Balancing

1957 · Aquatint on white laid paper

Image: 44.5 × 60.3 cm (17 9/16 × 23 3/4 in.); Sheet: 50.5 × 66.3 cm (19 15/16 × 26 1/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Bottle of Alsation Wine

1957 · Aquatint on cream laid paper

Image: 44.4 × 60.4 cm (17 1/2 × 23 13/16 in.); Sheet: 50.8 × 66.2 cm (20 × 26 1/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

VIII Arrondissement

1953 · Etching

plate: 11 13/16 x 9 3/8" (30 x 23.8cm); sheet: 21 1/4 x 15 1/2" (54 x 39.4cm)

Museum of Modern Art

WattsOS

LES RIDICULES

1953 · Etching, printed in black

Plate 16 1/2 x 11 1/2" (42.0 x 29.3 cm) Sheet 22 1/2 x 17 7/8" (57.0 x 45.4 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

WattsOS

"THE TICKET PUNCHER DREAMS OF CONFETTI!"

1952 · Lithograph, printed in black

Sheet 21 9/16 x 15" (54.9 x 38.1 cm) Comp. 16 15/16 x 10 5/8" (43.0 x 26.9 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

La Métropolitaine

1952 · Lithograph

composition: 14 11/16 x 9 3/4" (37.3 x 24.8cm); sheet: 21 1/2 x 15" (54.6 x 38.1cm)

Museum of Modern Art

WattsOS

LES RIDICULES

1952 · Etching, printed in black

Plate 19 7/16 x 11 1/8" (39.2 x 28.2 cm) Sheet 22 3/8 x 7 11/16" (57.0 x 45.0 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

XIV Arrondissement

1952 · Etching

plate: 11 9/16 x 9 3/8" (29.4 x 23.8cm); sheet: 21 1/4 x 15 1/2" (53.9 x 39.3cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Notre Dame de Lorette

1952 · Lithograph

composition: 16 9/16 x 10 3/8" (42.1 x 26.3cm); sheet: 21 9/16 x 15 1/16" (54.7 x 38.2cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Puppet

1950 · Etching and aquatint

plate: 20 5/16 x 16 5/16" (51.6 x 41.4cm); sheet: 23 x 17 5/8" (58.4 x 44.7cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Plate with Four Techniques

1941 · Soft ground etching, engraving, stipple engraving, and drypoint on cream wove paper

Plate: 25 × 21 cm (9 7/8 × 8 5/16 in.); Sheet: 55.5 × 44.7 cm (21 7/8 × 17 5/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

View all 19 artworks →

Artwork sources (3)

19 published of 33 catalogued · 25 with image

MoMA
14 publishedof 28 catalogued22 img
Art Institute Chicago
3 published3 img
The Met
2 published

Record

Images

Artsy

Art Institute of Chicago

Relationships

Collections3

Museum of Modern Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art Art Institute of Chicago

Institutional

Representation & Collections

In collection

Museum of Modern Art

New York, US

In collection

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

In collection

Art Institute of Chicago

Record

Exhibitions and timeline

No exhibitions or timeline entries yet