INTRODUCTION TO THE PAINTINGS OF CARLO BASILICO 1895 1966

His paintings follow one another like a personal diary of his life, created in moments of leisure. Carlo Basilico felt the need to use different techniques to express himself: drawing, watercolour, oil painting and tempera. His painting is dominated by a colourism that is unusual both in Ticino and in neighbouring Italy. Colour in its purest state, unmixed on the palette and applied in rapid strokes, often plays on the counterpoint between areas of light and shadow. Delicate reflections of light, touches of colour, pastel tones, coloured shadows and dotted brushstrokes. But also vivid, anti-naturalist colours with more intense brushstrokes, coloured shadows and the play between colours. The subjects of his paintings are portraits and self-portraits, landscapes, places in the home, still lifes and members of his own family. The themes and forms of Carlo Basilico's art have always been inspired by reality and underpinned by a contemplative eye that, by focusing on light, colour and sign, captures experience in its fleeting moment. For more information, see the website: www.carlobasilico.ch.