Background
Daeni was born in Bari, Italy, on November 8, 1939. He was the son of Tommaso D'Angelico.
Via Brera, 28, 20121 Milano MI, Italy
Pino Daeni enrolled in Brera Academy in 1960.
Pino working on one of his paintings.
Portrait of the artist, 1970s.
Via Brera, 28, 20121 Milano MI, Italy
Pino Daeni enrolled in Brera Academy in 1960.
Pino working on one of his paintings.
Portrait of the artist, 1970s.
The artist during his exhibition.
Daeni was born in Bari, Italy, on November 8, 1939. He was the son of Tommaso D'Angelico.
Pino Daeni's artistic talents were recognized by his first-grade teacher. He the one to advised Pino's father to encourage his son's artistic skills. However, Daeni's father remained sceptical of his son's future as a painter.
As a result, Daeni became a self-taught artist. Later on, Pino Daeni enrolled at the Art Institute of Bari, then went on to Milan’s Academy of Brera in 1960, where he refined his craft painting nudes. Here, he spent two years studying life drawing and painting, further developing his semi-Classical style. He became influenced by the artworks of the pre-Raphaelite painters and I Macchiaioli, mid-nineteenth century Florentine artists.
Between 1960 and 1979 Daeni's works were displayed in a number of significant Italian and European exhibitions. After his father’s death in 1964, the artist became the sole provider for his family. He reproduced paintings by the Old Masters, drew a line of Western-themed comics, and produced illustrations of Egyptian and Roman culture for a series of children’s books. Pino Daeni was also commissioned to create illustrations for Mondadori and Rizzoli, Italy’s two largest publishers.
After his visit to Manhattan in 1971, Pino Daeni's experiences of the art scene at that period made him feel limited in Milan. So, he immigrated to the United States in 1979 and was soon under the sponsorship of the famed Borghi Gallery. It held several exhibitions for him in New York, Boston and Massachusetts.
This period of time was exceedingly difficult for the artist. Although his paintings were constantly exhibited, his sponsorship barely allowed him to feed his family. His knowledge of English was limited and his mode of transportation was a bicycle. Nonetheless, Pino Daeni refused to give up, and sometime later Zebra Books Publishers commissioned him to paint his first book cover in February of 1980. This was the first of hundreds of covers created for both Zebra and Dell.
Pino Daeni's classically-based technique, richly warm colours and subtle, yet simple approach to his subjects became the distinctive feature of his oeuvre. His artworks attracted the attention of Penguin USA, Bantam, Simon & Schuster, Dell, and Harlequin, in addition to Dell and Zebra Book Publishers.
From 1980 to 1993 Daeni dedicated himself totally to producing covers. His style of illustration became so successful that his work dominated and influenced the entire romance market. During most of his Romance Period, Pino Daeni’s oeuvre was marked by hundreds of book covers painted for such artists as Sylvie Summerfield, Danielle Steele, and Amanda Ashley.
Although he was extremely successful as a commercial artist, the artist ultimately decided to return to impressionist revival painting. He sent five of his artworks to the May Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona, which were well received. From then on, his creations became a commodity in the art world and appeared in numerous collections, for example, in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina and in Garden City, Long Island, New York. The artist made several appearances on major TV shows and was interviewed by national and international journals.
In 2001, Pino Daeni's son, Massimo, started to represent his artist-father, although he initially opposed to this idea. Massimo successfully grew his efforts into a profitable marketing company, helping his father expand beyond his normal gallery representation to include magazines and books. In the following years, his works continued to appear in art galleries all over the world.
Daeni Pino built his artistic career defined by his unforgettable depictions of love, family, and romance and has become a true master of modern art. He was noted for his exceptional ability to capture the movements and expressions of his subjects.
By the end of his career, he had designed about 3,000 book covers, becoming one of the biggest names in publishing. He is considered one of the highest paid book illustrators of his time.
Among his most distinguished artworks are the following: Parisian Girl, Love Suite, Her Favorite Book, Serendipity, First Glance, Colorful Archway, Anticipation, Ethereal Beauty, Morning Breeze, Restful, Solace, Joyous Memories, etc.
First Glance
Long Stemmed Lovelies
The Gypsy
A Tale To Tell
The Country Chef
Pinodaeni 1
Cliff Side Retreat
Seaside Summer
Fleeting Moments
Parisian Girl
Lost in Thoughts
Mediterranean Breeze
Anticipation
Enchantment
Expectations
Afternoon Stroll
Beach Walk
Best Friends
Colorful Archway
Day Dream
Morning Dream
Seaside Gathering
The Matriarch
White Camisole
By the Sea
Good Ole Days
In The Shadows
The Young Peddler
A Time to Remember
A Place In My Heart
Apres Midnight
Christine
Quotations:
"It is fine art, unlike other artistic milieu, that the brush strokes come from the heart rather than the eye."
"When I get an idea or a solution, that’s the best part of the day. Number one, it means you’re still alive. Number two, that you will improve the quality of the painting."
"The model must be a base, and then the artist has to give a lot. They come from the heart. And the more you give, the more the readers, they love it."
"I am attracted by the abstract, but my sensibilities are fundamentally classical. If you put those together, you get Pino’s style. I am a psychological expressionist. I combine elements of academic, impressionistic, and abstract painting to depict the human condition."
"I used to paint in the academic way. Then I changed. I could no longer stay with just one school. Everything was interesting to me. I was curious about various schools of thought."
"When I paint for a book cover for a company, there are so many limitations... When I paint in fine art for myself, of course, it’s totally free. No restrictions. In this, I can fly."
"The common denominator for my work is a focus on interior situations, moments when the spirit remains quiet and still to the noise and activity of nature and everyday life."
"At the Academy of Brera, everything was drawing. I was obsessed with anatomy, sometimes fat people, sometimes skinny people. But the beauty comes from your imagination, the beauty is subjective."
Pino Daeni was married to a woman named Chiara. The couple gave birth to two children, Paola and Massimo, or Max.
