Francisco Amighetti

FRANCISCO AMIGHETTI (San José, Costa Rica 1907 -1998).
"The big window", 1981.
Woodcut on paper. Exemplary P.A
Slight oxidation on the paper.
Signed and dated in the lower right area. Titled and justified in the lower left area.
Measurements: 86 x 52 cm; 105 x 70 cm (frame).
Francisco Amighetti Ruiz was an outstanding Costa Rican painter, engraver and writer, recognized as one of the most representative and influential artists of Costa Rica during the 20th century. His artistic production exceeded 500 works, mainly woodcuts, chromoxylographs and murals, in which he depicted scenes of daily life, national identity and the customs of the Costa Rican people.
Amighetti began his work in woodcut during the 1920s, influenced by Japanese art and German expressionism. His first engravings, published in the magazine Repertorio Americano, were characterized by schematic figures and a strong expressionist content. Irony, sadness and anguish predominate in his works, as well as representations of popular neighborhoods and urban life. He later developed chromoxylography in larger formats, becoming one of the main promoters of this technique in Costa Rica and creating an important national school of engraving.
He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, although he soon moved away from traditional academicism to develop his own style linked to the New Sensibility movement. He also taught drawing, woodcut and art history at the University of Costa Rica. His career was recognized with the Premio Nacional de Cultura Magón in 1970 and, later, with the distinction of Benemérito de la Patria in 2010.