Tono Zancanaro

Antonio "Tono" Zancanaro (8 April 1906 – 3 June 1985), was an Italian artist best known for his underground, satirical caricatures of dictator Benito Mussolini from 1937 until 1945. Following the end of World War II, he was a member of the Fronte Nuovo delle Arti, an Italian art movement intended to replace the Novecento Italiano of the ousted fascist regime. Many of his notable works focus on social realism, depicting women rice laborers in Roncoferraro, the Polesine flood of 1951, and the carusi, child labourers in Sicilian sulfur mines.

As a visual artist, Zancanaro's work was characterized by different styles incorporating realism, surrealism, and political satire. He was prolific in his output and explored the graphic arts, engravings, sculptures, ceramics, glass art, mosaics, and lithographs in a career spanning 54 years. He won several awards for his work, including first prize for engraving at the 26th Venice Biennale in 1952. In the 1970s, he began working as a scenographer for the opera alongside his nephew Sylvano Bussotti. Since Zancanaro's death in 1985, his work continues to generate interest and ongoing exhibitions, with at least one museum bearing his name and several more hosting his permanent collections.