Mario Doretti, Italian, Israeli, born 1929, mixed media painting on paper depicting a double portrait of a couple. Signed lower right. Matted. A sketch pencil painting on the backside. Mario Doretti is an Italian painter and architect, born in Rome in 1929. After classical studies, he attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, then took a degree in Architecture at the University of Rome, where, in 1958, he also graduated in Art History. Mario Doretti opened his office in Rome, and was completely involved in his work as an architect, which was his main profession for about twenty years. In 1971, when he married an Israeli artist, he made his start as a painter, and only three years later he turned professional. In 1974 he left Rome and architecture, and came to Israel, settled here with his wife, devoting himself to painting. Mario Doretti works in various techniques, tempera, etching, silk screen, but his favorite one is oil. In his pictures one can see the influence of the Italian figurative school and the manner of contemporary painting. A quite personal combination of these two styles forms his own expression, which may be termed Classical Modern. From his childhood, from his world crowded with images, from his Mediterranean sensibility he derived a dreaming touch. The Middle East light has influenced his palette, of late: His colors are more luminous, and figures more gleaming in the airy atmosphere. One of a kind artwork.