Luca Alinari

Luca Alinari (1943–2019) was an Italian painter and set designer, renowned as one of the leading figures of Tuscan Imaginative Surrealism. Born in Florence, he spent much of his life in Rignano sull’Arno. From a young age, he was passionate about drawing and painting, later pursuing these interests professionally. He attended the University of Florence, where he studied literary criticism and worked as a reviewer in the fields of written and television communication. In 1979, Alinari founded the art magazine *Signorina Rosina*, which he also edited. During this time, he became increasingly active in the intellectual and artistic circles of Tuscany. His early artistic influences included Pop Art and Neodada, and he experimented with various techniques such as collage, decalcomania, fluorescent colors, and photographic transpositions. In the 1970s, he began to establish himself as a painter, focusing on the imaginative combination of objects and figures in dreamlike, fantastic settings. Alinari was also friends with several notable writers, including José Saramago, Domenico Rea, Alfonso Gatto, Edoardo Sanguineti, and Goffredo Parise, who wrote an essay on his work in the 1980s. In 1990, he painted the drape for the Palio di Siena, known as the *Cencio*. By the early 1990s, Alinari had reached full artistic maturity. His paintings often depicted vibrant, fantastical landscapes, characterized by vivid colors and an original technique that combined layered textures with smooth, transparent backgrounds. In 2011, he held an exhibition titled *Gelo* in Città di Castello, inspired by a quote from Franz Kafka. In the same year, he designed the logo for the 2013 Cycling World Championships, incorporating symbols of Tuscany’s landscape and a new humanistic perspective. Alinari’s work earned him numerous awards, including recognition at the Spoleto Festival Art (2014), the Premio Nazionale Torre di Castruccio (2014), and the Premio Filo d’Argento Auser (2015). In 2018, he received the Silver Banner, the highest honor from the Tuscany Region. Over the years, Alinari exhibited his works in prestigious locations, including the Palazzo Lanfranchi in Matera, the Galleria Fogola in Turin, the Palazzo Reale in Milan, and the Museum of Contemporary Art Villa Croce in Genoa, among others. He passed away in Florence in 2019.