Painter and engraver, printer and art teacher, born in Sant'Elia a Pianisi, a small village in Molise in the province of Campobasso, on March 2, 1971. After graduating from the Art School of Campobasso in 1989, he graduated in Painting from the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome in 1993, under the guidance of maestro Duilio Rossoni, who also introduced him to engraving and with whom he collaborated on the Engraving Techniques course until 2002. After living for many years in Rome and later in Pergine Valsugana in Trentino, since 2021 he has lived and worked in Pontinia, in the province of Latina.
He has created approximately 550 engravings, mostly etchings, but also using other intaglio techniques and sometimes woodcuts, on copper with Dutch mordant and on zinc with nitric acid, and whose favorite theme is landscape, sometimes realistic, but above all visionary and imaginative. Some of his engravings have been published since 1996 by "INClub" in Florence, "Chalcos" in Naples, and "Il Toro" in Milan. They are featured in various catalogs and specialized magazines and are present in numerous Italian and foreign museums and collections, both public and private. Among the many, we remember the Palazzo della Cancelleria Vaticana in Rome, the Bertarelli Collection at the Castello Sforzesco in Milan, the Gabinetto delle Stampe in Bagnacavallo, the Caixanova collection in Ourense, Spain, the Adalberto Sartori Collection in Mantua, the INClub Collection in Florence, and many others.
Among the many editions of his prints we recall: the edition of the folder “Palazzo della Cancelleria”, published by the INClub of Florence and by Fidam for the Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church, Rome 2006; the edition of the folder “The Palio di Siena” (with 18 original etchings by F. Di Stefano), published by the INClub of Florence with the authorization of the Consortium for the protection of the Palio di Siena, Florence 2006; The edition of the Plaquette (Artist's Book) "Ambarabà...", printed and published by Opificio della Rosa, Morciano di Romagna, 2016.
In 1999, INClub Edizioni of Florence published the "Complete Catalogue of Fernando Di Stefano's Engravings" updated to December 1998, and in 2002, the Italian Union for Art Collectors of Rome published the Catalogue of Paintings and Engravings "Fernando Di Stefano: Views of Rome and the Roman Countryside" a catalogue of the exhibition of the same name held at the Aragonese Castle in Ischia (Naples). Significant works include his solo exhibition "Acqueforti" at the Museo della Stampa in Soncino (Cremona) in 2010, and his participation in the important exhibition "Villa Adriana - Dialogues with Antiquity" at Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli (Rome) in 2011.
Among his various awards and honors, it's worth mentioning his 2nd Prize - Silver Medal at the "VII International Biennial of Engraving - Caixanova 2002" in Ourense, Spain.
Numerous of his paintings, mostly oil on canvas and panel, have been published by SPACC (Società Poligrafica d'Arte Classica e Contemporanea) in Rome and are present in various art galleries, museums, and churches, as well as in numerous private and public collections. It is important to note the creation of the apse lunette entitled "Ascension of St. Elias the Prophet" (1994, semicircular oil on canvas, 260 x 520 cm) in the Mother Church of Sant'Elia a Pianisi (Campobasso), and the creation of the "Palio della Quintana di Ascoli Piceno - August 2009" for the Ascoli Piceno Quintana Joust.
His works are present in the following collections:
Palazzo della Cancelleria Vaticana, Papal States, Rome; - Bertarelli Museum-Sforza Castle, Milan; - Prints and Drawings Cabinet, Bagnacavallo (Ravenna); - Adalberto Sartori Collection, Mantua; - Giuseppe Ugonia Museum, Brisighella (Ravenna); - Civic Hall, Gorlago (Bergamo); - Palazzo Oliva, Sassoferrato (Ancona); - Il Pelicano Gallery, Trasanni (Puglia); - Villa Croce Museum, Genoa; - Il Bisonte Collection, Florence; - Municipal Collection, Cavaion Veronese (VR); - Civic Collection, Campobasso; - La Caixanova Collection, Ourense (Spain); - Villa Pacchiani Museum, Santa Croce sull’Arno (PI); - Majdanek Triennial Collection, Lublin (POLAND); - Municipal School Collection, Sarcelles (FRANCE); - Engraving Museum, Acqui Terme (AL); - Graphic Design Collection, Cremona; - Municipal Engraving Collection, Gaiarine (TV); - Tracce-Cahiers d’Arte Collection, Ruvo di Puglia (BA); - Municipal Collection, Carnello (FR); - Museum of Italian Graphic Design, Vigonza (PD); - Engravings Fund of the Sicilian Engravers Association, Palermo; - Summer Solstice Onlus Collection, Bosia (CN); - Municipal Library Collection, Bodio Lomnago (VA); - Biennial Collection, Tetovo (Macedonia); - Museum of Arts, Cluj-Napoca (Romania); - CIEC Foundation, Betanzos (La Coruña, Spain); - Printing Museum, Soncino (Cr); - INClub Collection, Florence; - Il Toro Gallery, Milan; - Chalcos Gallery, Naples; - Signorini Gallery, Lendinara (Ro); - Salesian Church, Taormina (Me); - Headquarters in the Porta Tufilla district, Ascoli Piceno; - Mother Church, Sant'Elia a Pianisi (Cb); - Conference Room, Capuchin Convent, Sant'Elia a Pianisi (Cb); - Headquarters of the Italian Collectors Union, Rome; - Collection of the MAGMMA Museum, Villacidro (Sardinia); - Collection of the Benetton Studies and Research Foundation, Treviso; - Fei Art Museum, Yokohama (Japan); - China Printmaking Museum, Guanlan (China); - Collection of the National Association of Contemporary Engravers, Cison di Valmarino (TV); - Numerous collections of private collectors.
Since 2013, he has been a member of the National Association of Contemporary Engravers.
Numerous of his engravings are published on the portal (www.singulart.com).
More information about his engraving and painting work is published on his Facebook page (www.facebook.com/distefanofer) and on his Instagram profile fernando.distefano2.
He has created approximately 550 engravings, mostly etchings, but also using other intaglio techniques and sometimes woodcuts, on copper with Dutch mordant and on zinc with nitric acid, and whose favorite theme is landscape, sometimes realistic, but above all visionary and imaginative. Some of his engravings have been published since 1996 by "INClub" in Florence, "Chalcos" in Naples, and "Il Toro" in Milan. They are featured in various catalogs and specialized magazines and are present in numerous Italian and foreign museums and collections, both public and private. Among the many, we remember the Palazzo della Cancelleria Vaticana in Rome, the Bertarelli Collection at the Castello Sforzesco in Milan, the Gabinetto delle Stampe in Bagnacavallo, the Caixanova collection in Ourense, Spain, the Adalberto Sartori Collection in Mantua, the INClub Collection in Florence, and many others.
Among the many editions of his prints we recall: the edition of the folder “Palazzo della Cancelleria”, published by the INClub of Florence and by Fidam for the Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church, Rome 2006; the edition of the folder “The Palio di Siena” (with 18 original etchings by F. Di Stefano), published by the INClub of Florence with the authorization of the Consortium for the protection of the Palio di Siena, Florence 2006; The edition of the Plaquette (Artist's Book) "Ambarabà...", printed and published by Opificio della Rosa, Morciano di Romagna, 2016.
In 1999, INClub Edizioni of Florence published the "Complete Catalogue of Fernando Di Stefano's Engravings" updated to December 1998, and in 2002, the Italian Union for Art Collectors of Rome published the Catalogue of Paintings and Engravings "Fernando Di Stefano: Views of Rome and the Roman Countryside" a catalogue of the exhibition of the same name held at the Aragonese Castle in Ischia (Naples). Significant works include his solo exhibition "Acqueforti" at the Museo della Stampa in Soncino (Cremona) in 2010, and his participation in the important exhibition "Villa Adriana - Dialogues with Antiquity" at Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli (Rome) in 2011.
Among his various awards and honors, it's worth mentioning his 2nd Prize - Silver Medal at the "VII International Biennial of Engraving - Caixanova 2002" in Ourense, Spain.
Numerous of his paintings, mostly oil on canvas and panel, have been published by SPACC (Società Poligrafica d'Arte Classica e Contemporanea) in Rome and are present in various art galleries, museums, and churches, as well as in numerous private and public collections. It is important to note the creation of the apse lunette entitled "Ascension of St. Elias the Prophet" (1994, semicircular oil on canvas, 260 x 520 cm) in the Mother Church of Sant'Elia a Pianisi (Campobasso), and the creation of the "Palio della Quintana di Ascoli Piceno - August 2009" for the Ascoli Piceno Quintana Joust.
His works are present in the following collections:
Palazzo della Cancelleria Vaticana, Papal States, Rome; - Bertarelli Museum-Sforza Castle, Milan; - Prints and Drawings Cabinet, Bagnacavallo (Ravenna); - Adalberto Sartori Collection, Mantua; - Giuseppe Ugonia Museum, Brisighella (Ravenna); - Civic Hall, Gorlago (Bergamo); - Palazzo Oliva, Sassoferrato (Ancona); - Il Pelicano Gallery, Trasanni (Puglia); - Villa Croce Museum, Genoa; - Il Bisonte Collection, Florence; - Municipal Collection, Cavaion Veronese (VR); - Civic Collection, Campobasso; - La Caixanova Collection, Ourense (Spain); - Villa Pacchiani Museum, Santa Croce sull’Arno (PI); - Majdanek Triennial Collection, Lublin (POLAND); - Municipal School Collection, Sarcelles (FRANCE); - Engraving Museum, Acqui Terme (AL); - Graphic Design Collection, Cremona; - Municipal Engraving Collection, Gaiarine (TV); - Tracce-Cahiers d’Arte Collection, Ruvo di Puglia (BA); - Municipal Collection, Carnello (FR); - Museum of Italian Graphic Design, Vigonza (PD); - Engravings Fund of the Sicilian Engravers Association, Palermo; - Summer Solstice Onlus Collection, Bosia (CN); - Municipal Library Collection, Bodio Lomnago (VA); - Biennial Collection, Tetovo (Macedonia); - Museum of Arts, Cluj-Napoca (Romania); - CIEC Foundation, Betanzos (La Coruña, Spain); - Printing Museum, Soncino (Cr); - INClub Collection, Florence; - Il Toro Gallery, Milan; - Chalcos Gallery, Naples; - Signorini Gallery, Lendinara (Ro); - Salesian Church, Taormina (Me); - Headquarters in the Porta Tufilla district, Ascoli Piceno; - Mother Church, Sant'Elia a Pianisi (Cb); - Conference Room, Capuchin Convent, Sant'Elia a Pianisi (Cb); - Headquarters of the Italian Collectors Union, Rome; - Collection of the MAGMMA Museum, Villacidro (Sardinia); - Collection of the Benetton Studies and Research Foundation, Treviso; - Fei Art Museum, Yokohama (Japan); - China Printmaking Museum, Guanlan (China); - Collection of the National Association of Contemporary Engravers, Cison di Valmarino (TV); - Numerous collections of private collectors.
Since 2013, he has been a member of the National Association of Contemporary Engravers.
Numerous of his engravings are published on the portal (www.singulart.com).
More information about his engraving and painting work is published on his Facebook page (www.facebook.com/distefanofer) and on his Instagram profile fernando.distefano2.