Riccardo Benvenuti, Italian (1939 – 2018)

Riccardo Benvenuti was born in Lucca, Italy. He graduated from the Passaglia Institute and taught drawing, art history and sculpture in the public schools of the province. In 1974, on the 50th anniversary of the death of Giacomo Puccini, the Puccini Foundation in Lucca, Italy commissioned Riccardo Benvenuti to create a series of paintings that paid tribute to the great composer. Benvenuti’s Puccini paintings were exhibited at the Lincoln Center in New York City, the Lyric Opera House in Chicago, and at the Teatro Real in Madrid.

Selected Commissions
Boxing Museum of La Scala: illustrative art
Bradford Exchange: portraits and sculptural art
Gold Market of Milan, in collaboration with Salvador Dali:
design for the Medaglie dell'Augurio gold coin
Olympic Games in Los Angeles: illustrative art
The Puccini Foundation: a series of paintings depicting the women of Puccini’s operas
Saint Rita Church, Margine Coperta in Pistoia, Italy: wall mural
World Cup Soccer: illustrative art