Impressive Paintings by Adolfo Busi in the 1910s and ’20s

After receiving a diploma from the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna, Italian artist Adolfo Busi (1891–1977) devoted his attention to painting, in particular to portraits, and made his debut at the Roman Secession exhibition of 1914.

Paintings by Adolfo Busi in the 1910s and ’20s

In around 1920, Busi began to work in the field of graphic illustration for advertising and started collaboration with the Officine Grafiche Ricordi (Ricordi Graphic Studio). He was responsible for the Ricordi section at the first Advertising Poster Exhibit, which was held in Milan in 1938. He drew sketches for Borsari and Lepit, including the billboard posters for the VI National Contest for the Victory of Wheat (1928), for the Tripoli Lottery (1936-38), for the 1931 Tripoli Fair and hundreds of postcards with genre subjects marked by an unmistakable ironic and amiable trait.

From 1932, Busi illustrated the weekly publication La Moda della Lana (wool fashion) published by the Rossi Wool Factory, and was also responsible for all the advertising campaigns launched by the company in the 1930s. For Barilla, he designed the 1925 calendar published by Chappuis in Bologna, with drawings of children sowing, reaping wheat, making dough and cooking pasta, and the 1931 calendar published by Ricordi, from which were made also a poster, a postcard on the theme of the Baby waiter astride a macaroni that illustrated the month of February and another postcard with the Dance of the spaghetti from the month of December.

Here below is a set of impressive paintings by Adolfo Busi in the 1910s and 1920s.

Donnina, circa 1910s

First love, circa 1910s

First love, circa 1910s

Beautiful woman and harlequin with lute, circa 1920

Beautiful woman and Pierrot, circa 1920

Donna and Pierrot, circa 1920

Figure in flowers, circa 1920s

Girl on the beach with cigarette, circa 1920s

Girl with fur muff, circa 1920s

Lady driving, circa 1920s

Lady holding two doves, circa 1920s

On a boat, circa 1920s

Pretty lady and two doves, circa 1920s

Pretty lady with doves, circa 1920s

Pretty lady with doves, circa 1920s

Pretty lady with two doves, circa 1920s

Romantic couple in love, circa 1920s

Romantic couple in love, circa 1920s

Spanish lady in flowers, circa 1920s

Stylish couple, circa 1920

Woman among poppies, circa 1920s

Along the beach, circa 1920s

The street vendor, 1922