Antonio Calderara was a self-taught artist. He had studied engineering for two years before he decided he wanted to be a painter. Until 1958 his paintings were representational. His encounter with works by Piet Mondrians made a great impression. Since he had been three years old, the family had spent their vacations in Vacciago on Lake Orta, where his grandfather came from, and where he spent a major part of his life. He began to create abstract paintings, but the lake and landscape remained his most important inspiration. His paintings and prints are contemplative and reduced, with layer upon layer of diligently applied delicate colours. Colour and light were his themes. In 1948 and 1956 he was invited to participate in the Venice Biennial.
