Mario Mafai Auction Prices and Value Guide
Mario Mafai auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 190 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.
Mario Mafai auction prices: quick answer
Mario Mafai auction prices depend on medium, size, date, condition, provenance, edition details, attribution confidence, and recent comparable auction sales.
- Artist
- Mario Mafai
- Source records
- 190
- Market update
- 2026-02-06
Artist context
About Mario Mafai
Mario Mafai (1902–1965) was an Italian painter born and active in Rome, where he became a central figure in twentieth-century Italian art. Alongside his wife, the artist Antonietta Raphaël, Mafai co-founded the Scuola Romana, a modern art movement that emerged in Rome during the late 1920s and 1930s as an alternative to the state-sponsored Novecento Italiano style. The Scuola Romana embraced expressive color, lyrical abstraction, and a return to figurative subject matter grounded in everyday life. Mafai's own painting encompassed landscapes, still lifes, genre scenes, and figure compositions, often marked by intimate atmospheres and a restrained yet emotive palette. He remained active in Rome from the early 1920s until his death in 1965. His work is held in major museum collections, and he is recognized in international library authority files including the Getty Union List of Artist Names, VIAF, and the RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History.
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Common works and media
Mafai primarily produced oil paintings on canvas and board. Common subjects include Roman cityscapes and landscapes, intimate still lifes of everyday objects, figurative genre scenes, and portraits. Works range from small-scale easel paintings to larger compositions. Collectors may also encounter works on paper, including drawings and watercolors associated with his preparatory practice. Editioned prints or multiples are not a significant part of his documented output.
Market and appraisal context
Mario Mafai's paintings appear at auction primarily within Post-War and Modern Italian art sales. Valuation of Mafai works depends on factors including the period of execution, medium, subject matter, dimensions, provenance, condition, and exhibition or publication history. Works tied to his foundational role in the Scuola Romana may attract particular collector interest. Attribution should be supported by the scholarly record and, where available, catalogue raisonné documentation. Collectors should note that the auction record for Mafai is less extensive than for some contemporaries, and appraisal value should be informed by comparable Italian Modernist sales rather than broad market generalizations.
Auction categories and appraisal factors
Common auction categories
- Post-War and Modern Italian Paintings
Value drivers
- Provenance and exhibition history are significant for Mafai works due to his central role in the Scuola Romana
- Subject matter, date of execution, and condition are primary valuation factors; works from the 1930s–1940s associated with the Scuola Romana period may carry particular significance
- Attribution should reference the limited scholarly catalogue and RKD documentation
Appraisal caveats
- No major auction-house biographical page was available in the source pack; market context is inferred from authority records and general movement history rather than recent sale analytics.
- The source pack does not include specific realized prices or auction records; appraisal should incorporate comparable lot data from dedicated auction databases.
Evidence
Sources for artist context
This source-grounded artist context passed Appraisily's promotion threshold: high confidence, strong sources.
- Wikidata library authority
- Wikipedia wikipedia
- Getty Vocabulary Program library authority
- VIAF library authority
- Library of Congress library authority
- The Museum of Modern Art museum or university
Data basis
This page is built from Appraisily's public auction market index. Private transactions, incomplete sale feeds, and attribution changes may not be fully represented.
Artist value FAQ
How much is Mario Mafai worth?
Comparable public auction sales are the best starting point, but final value depends on the specific artwork, condition, size, medium, provenance, and attribution confidence.
Can Appraisily value my Mario Mafai artwork?
Yes. Appraisily can review photos, dimensions, signatures, condition, provenance, and comparable market data to prepare a current valuation.