Mario Prayer (1887-1959) was an Italian painter, mainly of frescoes for churches or large halls. He collaborated closely with his brother, Guido, in many projects.
Biography He was born in Turin to Roberto Prayer Galletti, a photographer from Venice and Giovanna Boccaccini, also from Venice. Despite being without the use of his right hand, along with his brother Guido, he trained first at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia and then at the Academy of Fine Arts of Lyon.
Both brothers were called in 1915 to paint for the Superintendent of Fine Arts of Apulia and Calabria, and the brothers mainly worked in Apulia and Basilicata, including Bari and Brindisi. He painted works for the Fascist authorities.La Republica, article 29 March 2001. His style shows the influences of Art Nouveau orStilo Liberty.I fratelli Prayer: gli artisti veneziani che si stabilirono a Bari, per amore, article by Mariangela Dicillo, 4 September 2013, Barinedito. He died in Rome.
In 1924, he had a girl named Liliana Prayer, in Bare, Italy. She died in 2002.
Among his works, mainly in fresco are:Journal of the Diocese of Lecce, article by Vincenzo Paticchio, published September 27, 2013. Allegory of the Province of Brindisi, 1949, Palazzo della Provincia, Brindisi Frescoes/encaustics 1924, Aula Magna, University of Bari Frescoes, 1921, Council Hall of Toritto, Apulia 1921 Frescoes, 1927, Sala Giuseppina or Cinema Oriente of Kursaal Santalucia, Bari Frescoes, 1933–34, Potenza Cathedral, Potenza Frescoes, 1933, Chiesa dell’Immacolata nel quartiere Tiburtino, Rome Frescoes depicting Life of Mary, 1942, Basilica Madonna della Coltura, Parabita Frescoes, 1930, Palazzo di Città, Bari Oil on Panel, Madonna del Carmine, 1949, Chiesa Matrice, Parish church of Monteroni Other works are found in Gioia del Colle, Gravina, Foggia, Galatone, and Genzano di Lucania.
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