Biography

Naturalist artist Lorenzo Fracchetti loved the concepts of space and distance while he was growing up in Avio prov. of Trento, Italy, a small village nestled in the mountains on the border of Austria. There he developed a passion for the majesty of the peaks and an appreciation for the valleys and chasms, the lakes and rivers that were all around him. This love of beauty in life, and especially a deep appreciation for humanity, its different cultures and beliefs, was developed when he studied at the School of Fine Arts in Milan. Those studies were followed by two years studying artistic design in Switzerland.

In 1967 Fracchetti had an opportunity to emigrate to Australia or Canada and chose the latter because of his passion for winters. At 21, he soon found himself standing in the middle of Toronto’s artist community. His first job in his new country would change his perspective of life forever. He worked as an illustrator for George Lonn, a renowned editor of books about the Arctic and a professor at the Academy of Ontario Artists.

A few years later, the lover of space and winter was about to have more of both than he could have ever dreamed of. Lonn sent the young artist to Baffin Island to sketch, take photographs and make notes.

At just 30 years old, Fracchetti had found what he had been searching for. He fell passionately in love with the Arctic; its scenery, its serenity, the limitless horizons, the warmth and camaraderie of the native people. Even the solitude.

He particularly appreciated how the Inuit make use of their spare time over the winter applying their creativity to artisan projects such as sculpture. He sketched them as he watched them work. His black and white drawings effectively captured the more dramatic expressions of their human sentiments and the effects of the northern elements on their features.

All the time, however, he was working on creating his own style of art that was slowly evolving out of his spirit and became in essence self-expression. One of the paintings he created that is particularly dear to his heart is Welcome Party. In it Fracchetti has depicted all the elements of the North that are important to him. The water is gold because of the effect of the sun that he first noticed when he came to the North. Strong dogs and the Inuit people themselves are featured on ice flows while participating in a seal hunt.

 
The artist believes the purpose of his work is to contribute to the conservation of the inhabitants, man and animals, and culture of the Arctic. Another favourite subject is the bear, which he considers to be the lord of the terrain. Fracchetti identifies with the bear. It needs a lot of space.