Attilio Pratella (1856 in Lugo di Romagna,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

– 1949 in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, Italy) was an Italian painter, noted for his landscapes and realistic scenes of Neapolitan life.

Background

Pratella grew up in Lugo di Romagna, to parents Alessandro Pratelli and Giuseppa Verlicchi (changing his surname to ''Pratella'' in 1876). At an early age he was known for his talent and hard work; staying after class alone to work on his painting. At 16, he illustrated a surgery book for a doctor from Bologna. He attended the Trisi College, studying with painter Ippolito Bonaveri. From 1877 to 1878, he studied on scholarship at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Bologna. On winning a ''Campagnoli'' scholarship in 1880 at age 24, he moved to Naples to study at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Napoli. To support himself during this period, he painted popular tourist sketches for the workshop of Masto Peppe (Giuseppe Massa). He also executed ceramic decorations for the Cesare Cacciapuoti workshop, creating imitations of Capodimonte porcelain, collaborating with antiques dealer Charles Varelli. In 1887 he married Annunziata Belmonte, moving with her to the Vomero neighborhood of Naples in the early 1920s, at first to Via Luca Giordano. Together the Pratellas had five children: Fausto (1888-1964), Ugo (1890-1978), Paolo (1892-1980), Eva (1897-1996) and Ada (1901-1929). Their sons Fausto and Paolo, and his daughter Ada also became painters. The area where they lived in Vomero gradually became an artist colony, where his friend and artist

Giuseppe Casciaro Giuseppe Casciaro (March 9, 1861 – October 25, 1941) was an Italian painter, active mainly in Naples. Biography Casciaro was born in Ortelle, Province of Lecce, Region of Apulia. Orphaned at the age of twelve, he was raised by a paternal u ...

lived nearby. He would ultimately spend the remainder of his life in Naples. Pratella died in 1949, at his home on Piazetta Aniello Falcone, near

Villa Floridiana The Villa Floridiana is a monumental house located amid a large park in the Vomero quarter in Naples, southern Italy. It overlooks the western Neapolitan suburbs of Chiaia and Mergellina. History Construction of a villa at the site was begun by ...

in the Vomero neighborhood of Naples. Subsequently, a street in

and Lugo di Romagna were named in his honor.

Work and exhibitions

Pratella's work is highlighted by his very small, quickly rendered Neapolitan views, noted for their use of very fine grays and greens alternating with sudden warm tones, and strong whites. Favorite subjects were

' markets and waterfront, along with the neighboring hills of Vomero, the island of Capri and the coast of

Sorrento Sorrento (, ; nap, Surriento ; la, Surrentum) is a town overlooking the Bay of Naples in Southern Italy. A popular tourist destination, Sorrento is located on the Sorrentine Peninsula at the south-eastern terminus of the Circumvesuviana ra ...

. Notable titles include: ''Impression''; ''Landscape: Twilight, Green''; ''A corner of Posillipo;'' ''Strada del Vomero''; ''In Campagna''; and ''Valle di Camaldoli.'' His works are exhibited in the main public Italian Modern Art Galleries of

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, and

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

References

Bibliography

* "Omaggio a Pratella". ''"Catalogo Mostra della Galleria Medea"''. Napoli, 1950 * Alfredo Schettini: ''"Attilio Pratella"''. Edizioni Morano, Napoli, 1954 * ''"Tre maestri napoletani : Casciaro Giuseppe, Migliaro Vincenzo, Pratella Attilio"'', Galleria d'arte Sant' Andrea 28 gennaio -10 febbraio 1956.Genova, 1956 * AA.VV. ''"Mercato della Pittura Napoletana"'' with preface by R. Schettini. Cin. Ed, 1978 * Saverio Amendola, ''"Attilio Pratella"'', Edizioni La Mediterranea Arte, Napoli 1999 * Mariantonietta Picone Petrusa: ''"La Pittura Napoletana del '900"''. Franco Di Mauro Editore, Napoli, 2005 * Enzo Savoia: ''"Attilio Pratella : il narratore dei mille volti di Napoli"''. Bottegantica, Bologna 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Pratella Attilio 1856 births 1949 deaths 19th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 20th-century Italian painters Painters from Naples Italian marine artists 19th-century Neapolitan people Accademia di Belle Arti di Napoli alumni 19th-century Italian male artists 20th-century Italian male artists