Gastone Lanfredini: Naïve Painter - Mathematician. The Four Brothers. Anno 1973

Gastone Lanfredini: Naïve Painter and Mathematician

The Four Brothers

Artist: Gastone Lanfredini
Medium: Oil tempera on canvas applied to plywood
Dimensions: 35 cm x 50 cm (unframed)
Date: July 1973
Signature: Signed at the bottom left
Condition: Some minor restorations

The Four Brothers is a vibrant composition featuring stylized figures, typical of Gastone Lanfredini's naïve style. At the center of the scene, a sun with geometric and stylized rays dominates the background, giving the composition an almost abstract feel. This sun evokes a sense of altered reality, reminiscent of the psychedelic aesthetic of the late Beatles' albums, where the perception of reality becomes dreamlike and distant. 
Surrounding the sun are trees bearing colorful fruit, enriching the scene with decorative, lively details. On the right, a man riding a bicycle adds a dynamic and playful touch to the overall composition. The geometric and stylized figures, set in this dreamlike decorative landscape, reflect Lanfredini's interest in balancing abstraction and nature. This painting fits seamlessly into the artist's work from the 1970s, characterized by the synthesis of essential forms and bright colors.

Artist's Biography
Gastone Lanfredini (Florence, 1923 – Sansepolcro, 2005) was a Tuscan artist known for his naïve painting style, characterized by vivid colors and stylized figures that evoke a simple, enchanted world. 
A mathematician and teacher by vocation, and an exceptionally original painter out of an intimate creative necessity, Lanfredini transitioned from figurative to abstract art in the early 1960s, simplifying form and emphasizing color. His Concrete Painting created a new reality in which harmony, proportions, and color compositions remained faithful to the forms of nature, despite the stylistic shift.

A lover of nature and the countryside, Lanfredini settled in Sansepolcro, where he spent much of his life and artistic career. Here, he is honored with a major exhibition titled "99 Gastone Lanfredini. From Sensibility to Essence - A Hundred Years from His Birth, 1923 - 2023," which will take place at Palazzo Alberti in Sansepolcro (AR) from December 9, 2023. The exhibition will be hosted in the splendid rooms of the palace, located in the historic center of Piero della Francesca’s hometown, paying tribute to an artist who captured the essence of nature and rural Tuscan life through his unique and poetic style.