SwissArtGallery · Documented identity
Born in 1898 in Spezzano Albanese, Calabria, Luigi Amato received his first lessons in drawing and geometry from his father. At the age of fourteen, he received a scholarship that took him to Rome, to the Regio Istituto di Belle Arti on Via di Ripetta. Under the direction of Umberto Coronaldi and Duilio Cambellotti, he studied the figure there. Called up for military service in 1916, he resumed his studies in Rome on his return in 1918 and then began his artistic career.
In November 1920, he presented a solo exhibition at the Circolo Formazione e Cultura in his home town, then organised another in January 1925 at the Associazione Italo-Americana in Palazzo Salviati. A pastel presented at the Biennale also received an award, although the date of this distinction is not specified. At the Salon des Artistes Français, his pastel Piccola Calabrese received an honourable mention on the recommendation of the critic Henry Maistre.
In 1938, invited to England to paint members of English and Scottish high society, Amato organised a solo exhibition there at the Arlington Gallery on Bond Street; he was then appointed a member of the Pastel Society. On 28 October 1939, he was appointed Knight of the Order of the Crown of Italy by decree published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale on 3 February 1940.
In 1948, he settled in Capri and opened a studio there. The island’s inhabitants became subjects of his work: children, older people and young women whom he encountered in the streets of Capri and Anacapri. His paintings were sent to art dealers in several cities, including New York, Chicago, Paris, London, Lucerne, Vienna, Stockholm and Johannesburg. Luigi Amato died in Rome on 2 November 1961.
This profile brings together identity references for Luigi Amato and paintings, drawings and works on paper documented in auction catalogues.
2 references are documented at Dobiaschofsky. Each record links to its source; the amounts are not a general valuation of the artist’s work.
Oil on canvas
Weiblicher Akt.
Öl auf Leinwand
Catalogue period : 2020-11-07
Published result : 1400 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 1000
View the lot at the auction house ↗
Oil on canvas
Ritratto di ragazza.
Öl auf Leinwand
Date to be documented
Catalogue reference — sale not confirmed
View the lot at the auction house ↗SwissArtGallery documentary note based on the cited sources. Titles, media and qualifications are provided in the profile language; the original catalogue wording remains available in each record.
Documentation updated : 2026-10-19
