A brief biography of Sandro Del Prete

"Everything that we see, can be seen in another way. Therefore, I ask myself; isn't everything that we see an illusion anyway?" Sandro Del Prete's thoughts on the human way of looking at things form the mental starting point and the driving force for his artistic activity. Only when Del Prete, who was born in Bern, had completed his commercial schooling at his father's bidding and had saved enough, could he finally dedicate himself to his great passion.

Study in Italy
Florence, the city of beautiful art, formed the starting point for the artistic work of the then 23 year old Del Prete. During the course of six months of study there, at the Academia delle bell arte, he found the time and the ideal surroundings to set off on his way into the world of optical illusions. In the work of Michelangelo, Rembrandt and Rubens, amongst others, the young artist studied the techniques of light and shadow, form design and colour as well as structural elements. In addition to the technical skills of the old masters, Sandro Del Prete immersed himself in symbolism and the possibilities of portraying the internal connections between the artist and his work. Back again in Switzerland, Sandro Del Prete pursued his passion at first as a hobby. He experimented with drawing and painting, and worked mostly with the motives of sacred art; drawings and pictures like that of the "Inocencia" were created. To his early works belong likewise his first work in wood, like the three dimensional form "Madonna with Child", created in 1962.

The discovery of the optical illusion
"30 years ago, I observed a chameleon. I noticed how it looked frontwards with one eye and backwards with the other. I asked myself what the animal really saw; what picture it had of it's small world. From that began my interest in different perspectives" Del Prete tried to depict in pictures objects that could be seen from two different viewpoints at the same time. From that arose a new dimension, in which the normal terms like front, back, top, bottom, right and left could no longer be used. These were then all the same, so front was at the same time back etc. All the individual parts were however correctly drawn in the picture, only the whole piece appeared impossible. Soon afterwards he experimented with other types of illusions as are summarised in his books.

Exhibitions in his own gallery
In 1981 Sandro Del Prete’s first book “Illusorisms” appeared, and it’s great success encouraged him, in the same year, to open his own gallery in Bern for optical deceptions and illusions. In similar fashion, the artist called his second book “Illusoria”, which appeared in 1987 with the practical subtitle “the account of a journey”.
After the big breakthrough with his book “Illusorisms” in 1981, Sandro Del Prete chucked in his job as an insurance inspector with SUVA and decided that in the future he would only draw, paint and sculpt. In April 1986 the newly brought to life “Laubengaffer” was first uncovered in the Schweizerhof arcade in Bern. It pursued the Bernese at every turn and caused quite some confusion! Since April 1997 the “Laubengaffer” occupies a new and distinguished place in the main railway station in Bern.

Link zur WebSite von Sandro Del-Prete: www.sandrodelprete.com