Afro Basaldella
Afro Libio Basaldella started his career as an Italian Post-War painter. Afro was a founding member of the Scuola Romana. He started by learning sculpting but quickly transfered to painting though he dabbled in many arts including sculpting and jewelry. His older brothers Dino and Mirko shared his interest in art and also became sculptors. After World War II the economy was running at full speed in Italy and jewelry as well as diamonds and precious stones became a sign of wealth attracting many different artists of all mediums including Afro. In October 1949 in Milan the “Jewelry by Masenza” exhibition was inaugurated which was a display of many Italian artists works in jewelry. Artists and sculptors took part in creating the works of Roman jeweler Mario Masenza. Among them the Afro brothers, Mirko and Dino Basaldella, Franco Cannilla, Giuseppe Capogrossi and Giuseppe Uncini, and others. Mario Masenza (1913-1985) was a jeweler with a family tradition of supplying jewelry to the Italian Royal Family from their workshop on the via del Corso in Rome. After the second World War Masenza was the first to invite artists into the workshop so that they could create 'intellectual fashion' including those from all walks of art. Basaldella is known for his jewelry as well as exhibiting at the Guggenheim in New York and creating a mural for the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. Afro passed away in 1976.
