Foiso Fois

Foiso Fois (Iglesias, 1916 – Cagliari, 1984) was a leading figure in 20th-century Sardinian art. After studying in Sardinia and Tuscany, he also participated in the Resistance during the Second World War. Returning to Sardinia after the war, he devoted himself intensely to painting and graphic art, becoming a central figure in Cagliari’s cultural life. His art is distinguished by a strong civic commitment: Fois rejected a folkloristic image of Sardinia and chose instead to represent its social reality. Alongside painting, Fois continued to practice printmaking (woodcut, etching, lithography). Even in his graphic art, he maintained the same interest in social themes and the human figure, using incisive and highly expressive lines. His printmaking is also preserved in the “Anna Marongiu Pernis” Prints Collection at the Cagliari University Library. Fois’s works in the collection are part of his engraving production, which focuses on the themes of work, Sardinia, and the figurative research that characterizes his entire artistic career.