AWARDS

The John J. Lanzendorf-National Geographic PaleoArt Prize was created by the late John Lanzendorf to recognize outstanding achievement in paleontological scientific illustration and naturalistic art. These are the only art awards presented by the scientific community that specifically recognize accomplishments in paleontological visualization. PaleoArt is broadly defined as the scientific or naturalistic rendering of paleontological subject matter.  PaleoArt is one of the most important vehicles for communicating discoveries and data among Paleontologists and is critical to promulgating Paleontology across disciplines and to lay audiences.

AEGIS OF FIRE
This work, a digital painting mural nearly three meters in length, presents an environmental reconstruction of the late Jurassic Morrison Formation (United States), dating to approximately 150 million years ago.
The composition depicts a forest ravaged by a massive wildfire. In the foreground, an aging and wounded Stegosaurus inadvertently provides shelter to juvenile Brachiosaurus, protecting them from the perilous attention of a Torvosaurus, a formidable predatory dinosaur looming in the background.

This art won the prestigious John Lanzendorf-National Geographic Paleoart Prize this year at the 85th Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP) annual congress in Birmingham. It was a great honor to have achieved such a milestone.

The Italian Award for Paleoart is an art competition whose aim is to spread the knowledge of Paleoart, as a representation of prehistoric life through various artistic techniques, offering at the same time a showcase to professional and aspiring paleoartists.
This award was established in 2020, and is patronised by Museo Paleontologico di Montevarchi (Italy) and PaleoaAppi (Associazione Paleontologica e Paleoartistica italiana).

INFERNUM
This work portrays a reconstruction of the fauna and flora of the early Permian Texas–Oklahoma Red Beds, dating to approximately 285 million years ago. The painting depicts a large specimen of Dimetrodon that has just captured a juvenile Eryops, a temnospondyl amphibian. The scene is presented from the vantage point of an observer concealed within the foliage, thereby heightening the sense of immediacy and tension. The title alludes to the rise of synapsids as dominant terrestrial apex predators between the late Carboniferous and the early Permian.

The Italian Paleoart Prize takes place every year at the Museum of Paleontology of Montevarchi, Italy.
I participated to the 2nd Edition in 2022 with “Infernum”, a painting about the Pliocene fossil site of Bolt’s Farm, in South Africa.

The International Dinosaur Illustration Contest (CIID) is a contest which aims to award dinosaur-themed illustrations, as well as other extinct species.
The award is patronised by Grupo de Etnologia e Arqueologia da Lourinhã (GEAL)/Museu da Lourinhã, in coorganization with Dino Parque Lourinhã and was established in 2001.

I LEFT MY HEART IN PIKERMI
This five-meter-long mural depicts a glimpse of the Greek fossil site of Pikermi, dating to the late Miocene, approximately 7 million years ago. Within the composition are represented some of the most characteristic species of the site’s flora and fauna, including the saber-toothed felid Amphimachairodus giganteus, the proboscidean Deinotherium proavum, the giraffe Bohlinia attica, and the antelope Miotragocerus gaudryi. The title reflects the profound bond that develops between the scholar and the subject of study—a relationship grounded in a deep and enduring passion for knowledge.

I participated in the 2022 edition with I Left My Heart in Pikermi, a mural reconstructing a scene from the European Late Miocene. The work was awarded an Honorable Mention.

The “Illustraciencia Scientific Illustration” Award is an annual international competition dedicated to the promotion and recognition of excellence in scientific illustration. It is organized by the Illustraciencia in collaboration with the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales in Madrid.

The initiative is supported by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), through the National Museum of Natural Sciences (MNCN-CSIC) and its Deputy Vice Presidency for Scientific Culture and Citizen Science (VACC-CSIC), as well as by the Catalan Association of Science Communication (ACCC).

The award highlights the vital role of scientific illustration in research, education, and public engagement. Open to both established and emerging illustrators, it encompasses a wide range of scientific disciplines and promotes excellence in accuracy, clarity, and visual quality, fostering meaningful interaction between art and science.

GREAT INDIAN HORNBILL
This infographic offers an immediate and visually accessible overview of key information concerning the Great Indian Hornbill (Buceros bicornis), one of the most striking and emblematic bird species of Southeast Asian fauna.

I partecipate in 2022 with a zoological tabke of Great Indian Hornbill. The painting was among selected to be part of an exhibition in the Natural History Museum of Madrid in summer 2022.