Aurelio Craffonara, painter, illustrator and decorator, studied at the Accademia Ligustica in Genoa under the guidance of Tammar Luxoro. Craffonara soon became passionate about the watercolor technique, becoming a master of it.
In 1898-99 he signed the illustrations for Emilio Salgari's The Miners of Alaska, published in 1900.
He was enrolled among the professors of merit at the Accademia Ligustica of Genoa in 1915.
Upon returning from military service he dedicated himself to illustration and advertising. He also created illustrations for various short stories and novellas. He was part of the Famiglia Artistica Genovese, frequenting the painters Nomellini, Pennasilico, Bardinero, Motta. Craffonara participated in numerous exhibitions, including those of Lombard watercolourists, achieving considerable success. He was one of the founders of the Gruppo degli Acquerellisti Liguri.
He painted landscapes (often mountainous), seascapes, cityscapes and figures.
In 1937, Aurelio Craffonara ordered a personal exhibition at the prestigious Galleria Pesaro in Milan.
If undoubtedly his activity as an illustrator is the one for which he is most frequently remembered, his work as a painter, above all as a pleasant watercolourist, should certainly not be forgotten, as well as as a decorator of pavilions of exhibitions such as the industrial one in Genoa in 1901 or the Roman one in 1911.