Reserved and reclusive, Antonio Donghi (Rome, 1897 – 1963) earned his diploma from the Royal Institute of Fine Arts in Rome, in 1916. His artistic journey truly began in the early 1920s, when he joined the movement forming around the group Valori Plastici. Donghi made his debut in 1922, presenting his painting Via del Lavatore at the 15th Exhibition of the Society of Amateurs and Connoisseurs of Fine Arts in Rome. The following year, marked his first participation in the Rome Biennale, where he exhibited the evocative Nudo di donna (1923), a work that resonates with his others from the same period, such as Lavandaie (1922) and Carnevale (1923).

In 1924, Donghi exhibited at the Pesaro Gallery in Milan, as part of the group show Venti artisti italiani, curated by Ugo Ojetti. Among his peers in this exhibition were artists such as Felice Casorati, Giorgio de Chirico, and Francesco Trombadori.

Donghi’s reputation grew steadily, and he became recognized as one of the leading figures of Magical Realism — an artistic and literary movement in which fantastical or surreal elements blend with a faithful rendering of reality, blurring the boundaries between the two.

In 1925, Donghi exhibited his work in Mannheim, in a show associated with the New Objectivity group. The following year, he contributed ten works to a traveling exhibition across New York, Boston, Washington, Chicago, and San Francisco — an initiative organized by the Italian Ministry of Education. In 1927, he exhibited again in New York, followed by shows in Switzerland and Germany, and later in Pittsburgh for the Carnegie International, where his painting Carnevale received a mention of excellence. In 1928, Donghi made his debut at the Venice Biennale, presenting works such as Circo equestre (1927), Canzonettista (1925), and Cocottina (1927).

The 1920s, a decade of major achievements for Donghi, concluded in 1929 with his participation in the second Novecento Italiano exhibition at the Permanente in Milan, and the presentation of five works at the First Exhibition of the Latium Fascist Syndicate of Artists.

The 1930s saw a continuation of his prolific exhibition activity. Donghi began focusing more on landscapes, while traveling mainly through central Italy. His painting Donna alla finestra (1926), shown at the Venice Biennale of 1930, was purchased by the Galleria d’Arte Moderna at Palazzo Pitti in Florence. He then took part in another Novecento Italiano exhibition in Buenos Aires in 1930, participated in the first Rome Quadriennale and again in the Venice Biennale in 1932. During this time, several of his works entered major public collections: Donna al caffè (1931) was acquired by the Ca’ Pesaro Museum of Modern Art; Giovinetta (1931) by the Museo Civico of Genoa; and Figura di donna (1932) by the National Gallery of Modern Art in Rome.

Around the mid-1940s, Donghi’s painting style began to shift — in both technique and scale. He remained distant from the growing postwar debate between abstract and figurative art, yet his work underwent changes. Calligraphic details became increasingly dominant, often overshadowing the overall structure of the composition, while large-scale subjects grew rarer. Nevertheless, he continued to gain recognition, participating in the prestigious Twentieth-Century Italian Art exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, in 1949, with his work Caccia alle allodole (1942).

Throughout the 1950s, Donghi remained active on the exhibition scene, regularly participating in major events such as the Venice Biennale (1952, 1954) and the Rome Quadriennale (1951, 1955, 1959). However, despite his ongoing presence, the period from the early 1950s until his death could be described as a time of gradual retreat. His final painting, Ritorno al Lavoro (1962), was discovered in his studio, still on the easel and unsigned.

Several months after his death, Rome’s La Nuova Pesa Gallery honored his legacy with a retrospective exhibition, followed by another tribute at the Rome Quadriennale two years later.