Francesco De Panis was born in Genoa on November 9, 1949. He attended the Art School and at the Ligurian Academy of Fine Arts. In 1971 he moved to Paris, in Rue de Paradis, where he remained until 1973. Here he met the great painter P. M. Laurent, undisputed leader of the continuation of French Impressionistic art. De Panis worked with master throughout his Parisian period. In an interview given on French television in 1972, the latter said about Francesco De Panis: ‘The painter of nature and the sun, the painter of snow and of the skies [...] where man looks towards infinity [...] an artist who will leave a deep mark on the history of art’. His stay in Paris will not allow him to set up solo exhibitions, but almost all of his works participate in collective groups and the French press has a high regard for him. He participated in several group exhibitions and competitions, he won prizes and awards, among them: ‘City of Naples’ gold medal, first prize at ‘Il pennello’ competition in Bologna, second international prize ‘Nuovi grandi maestri’ in Frankfurt. Even today, the works of the master Francesco De Panis are held in exclusive exhibitions. Reviews and writings: ‘Le Monde’, ‘Figarò’, ‘L'Art Moderne’, ‘Neuvelle Revue Francaise’, ‘L'Eventail’, ‘The New Times’, ‘La Stampa’, ‘Il Resto del Carlino’, ‘Il Messaggero’, ‘La Nazione’, ‘Il Giornale’, ‘Il Secolo XIX’, ‘Il Lavoro’, ‘Il Corriere Mercantile’, ‘La Gazzetta del Lunedì’. Bibliography: Bolaffi catalogue of contemporary painters and sculptors, II Quadrato editions, ‘Arte Contemporanea’, ‘Enciclopedia del 900’, ‘L'Elite’, ‘Il mercato artistico italiano’, ‘L'arte Italiana nel XX secolo’. Prints and newspapers: ‘Like all great painters, Francesco De Panis is not someone who has never imitated others. He is someone who is imitated and still remains inimitable’, from ‘Nouvelle Revue Francaise’, 1973, N. Dorival. ‘The spectators of his landscapes have the impression of witnessing a moment of eternity, raising their vision to an extra-temporal sphere. Francesco De Panis paints nature with a surprising truth: nothing is altered, nothing is added or change’, E.M. De la Faille, extracted from ‘Lemond’, 1972. ‘I have no hesitation in saying that among contemporary painters who depict nature, no one had used so far on such a violently realistic note’, A. Mirbe from ‘Le Figaro’, 1973. Personal exhibitions: 1974, Interkomm gallery in Genoa; 1975, Torremolinos gallery in Malaga; 1975, Il Vertice gallery in La Spezia; 1976, Interkomm gallery in Genoa; 1976, Il Budello gallery in Alassio; 1977, Galleria De Cristoforis in Milan; 1977, Vignolo Castle in Chiavari; 1978, Interkomm gallery in Genoa; 1978, Estudios 2001 gallery in Caracas; 1979, Galleria di Gesù in Pordenone; 1979, Hotel Helvetia in Ambuly; 1981, L'Artistica gallery in Genoa; 1981, Emmedue gallery in Turin; 1982, Florence art Gallery in Florence; 1983, Art Gallery in Dallas; 1985, L'Artistica gallery in Genoa; 1986, Giordano gallery in Genoa; 1987, L'Artistica gallery in Genoa; 1988, L'Artistica gallery in Aprica; 1989, Malaga (Spain); 1990, Caracas (Venezuela); 1991, Ambily (Switzerland); 1992, Dallas, Texas; 1993, London; 1994, New York; 1995, Calgary (Canada); 1996, Villigen (Germany); 1997, Florence; 2014, San Miniato (Pisa). Awards: achievements: 1st prize ‘Città di Napoli’ gold medal, with the painting ‘La Zolla’; 1st prize with gold plaque at ‘Il pennello’ competition in Bologna; 2nd international prize with the painting ‘La Cava’ at the Frankfurt event ‘I nuovi grandi maestri’; right to a solo exhibition held in London for the prize obtained in Frankfurt ‘I nuovi grandi maestri’, all works were sold; guest of honour in the jury of ‘Nuovi artists’ national competition in Pavia. Exponent of painting and sculpture in Italy (the best hyperrealist and the only one of its kind in Europe), called ‘an obsessed hyperrealist’.