Mario Schifano was an Italian painter and collage artist of the Postmodern school who was born on this day 20 September 1934 in Khoms, Libya. On his day of birth, we at Abir Pothi have combined a list of 11 interesting facts and life events of Schifano that might entice and interest the readers. 

11 Facts on Mario Schifano

1. Schifano was born in Libya, which was a colony of Italy at the time, and at a young age, he came to Rome with his family. His first profession as an artist was really as a pottery restorer; he was self-taught.

2. Apart from his artistry, he is renowned as a rock musician and filmmaker as well.

3. He was known for being a prolific and vivacious artist, but he also battled a lifetime of drug addiction, earning him the title maledetto (Latin for “cursed”). Schifano, in the meantime, received six different prison terms as a result of his drug addiction.

4. In the 1969 movie he directed, Umano, non umano, Keith Richards and Mick Jagger had cameo appearances. He also served as the inspiration for the Rolling Stones’ song “Monkey Man” from their album “Let It Bleed”, which was released the same year. Schifano led a lively life, and people from the Rolling Stones and French filmmaker Cy Twombly, and Jean-Luc Godard were among his friends.

5. Schifano was notorious for throwing wild parties at his opulent Rome flat. Professor Mario Praz, one irritated neighbour, called him “a complete savage” who had “shady people come and go,” made “constant noise” and “rode around the flat on bicycles.” 

6. In 1963 and 1969, Schifano was romantically involved with Anita Pallenberg and Marianne Faithfull, respectively. It is alleged that Marianne Faithfull left her then-boyfriend Mick Jagger for him in the late 1960s. 

7. He is regarded as one of Italian postmodernism’s most important and distinguished painters. He displayed his work in the renowned “New Realists” exhibition at the Sidney Janis Gallery in 1962 alongside other emerging Pop artists and Nouveau réalisme pioneers like Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. 

8. Along with Tano Festa and Franco Angeli, he joined the core group of artists that made up the “Scuola di Piazza del Popolo.” A school that took notice of how the streets were changing and, more specifically, how many advertisements were posted there.

9. Although the comparison tends to focus only on Mario Schifano’s Pop art, the phrase “Italy’s Andy Warhol” is frequently used to describe the 1934–1998 artist. 

10. He argued that nothing should be taken at face value. Schifano started supporting left-wing causes and giving substantial sums of money to anti-government organisations all over Italy in the late 1960s.

11. Recent exhibitions of his work include The World Goes Pop at Tate Modern and the Centre for Modern Italian Art in New York, as well as a significant retrospective at the National Gallery of Modern Art in Rome.

References

• Wikipedia- Mario Schifano
• Christie’s- Mario Schifano: Pop star, rock star, ‘brilliant genius’

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