Domenico Morelli (4 August 182313 August 1901) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

painter, who mainly produced historical and religious works. Morelli was immensely influential in the arts of the second half of the 19th century, both as director of the

Accademia di Belle Arti This is a list of the tertiary-level schools or academies of fine art in Italy that are recognised by the Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Università e della Ricerca, the Italian ministry of higher education. Accademie di Belle Arti The offic ...

in Naples, but also because of his rebelliousness against institutions: traits that flourished into the passionate, often patriotic, Romantic and later Symbolist subjects of his canvases. Morelli was the teacher of Vincenzo Petrocelli and Ulisse Caputo.

Biography

He was born to a poor family 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 ...

. His mother had hoped he would become a priest. His precocious talent was noted, and he was enrolled at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Naples in 1836–1846, where he befriended Francesco Altamura. His early works contain imagery drawn from the

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

stories and

Romantic poets Romantic poetry is the poetry of the Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. It involved a reaction against prevailing Enlightenment ideas of the 18t ...

such as

Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...

. In 1845, he painted a prize-winning . In 1845–46, with the painting of , and help from a generous patron, the lawyer Ruggiero, he won a fellowship to study in Rome. In 1847–48, he painted and , the prize-winning , and . In 1847 at Rome, he painted a . Morelli had just returned to Naples, when the insurrections of 1848 erupted in Naples. He joined the protesters in the barricades on via Toledo, and was wounded, nearly killed, and briefly imprisoned. In a retrospective published after his death, Isabella Anderton would label Domenico as one of the ''warrior artists'' of Italy, a group which also included

Filippo Palizzi Filippo Palizzi (1818 – 1899) was an Italian painter. Biography Filippo Palizzi was born in Vasto (Chieti). He moved to Naples in 1837 and enrolled at the Royal Institute of Fine Arts, but withdrew after a few months to attend the private sch ...

, Telemaco Signorini, Stefano Ussi, and Francesco Saverio Altamura. Released, Morelli returned to Rome. He painted (1851) and . In 1855 at the Florentine Exposition, he displayed his famous ''The Iconoclasts''. Domenico Morelli 002

He participated in the Universal Exposition in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

in 1855. Later, in Florence, he was an active participant in the

Macchiaioli The Macchiaioli () were a group of Italian painters active in Tuscany in the second half of the nineteenth century. They strayed from antiquated conventions taught by the Italian art academies, and did much of their painting outdoors in order to ...

discussions on Realism. Morelli claimed that it was these discussions that made his own work less academic and helped him to develop a freer style and to experiment with color. In this period, he is grouped into the school of Realism. In 1857, he won a contest to design the decoration of the church of San Francesco of Gaeta, a project never completed. On a trip to Milan he painted , ''Pompeian Bath'', and a . By 1857, he had returned to Naples, painting a . For the ceiling of the Royal chapel of Naples, he painted an ''Assumption of the Virgin''. He was a member of an independent society, led by his friend

, to promote the liberal arts, called the in 1862. He was appointed consultant for new acquisitions of the Capodimonte art museum in Naples and, thus, had significant impact on the subsequent direction of the collections. In 1868, Morelli became a professor of painting at his old Academy, which now became the Royal Institute of Fine Arts in Naples. From that period onward, his interest turned to religious and mystical themes, drawn from mostly Christian, but also Jewish and Muslim traditions. Perhaps best known from this period is the ''Assumption'' on the ceiling of the Royal Palace in Naples. Morelli was also one of the collaborators for the illustrations of the Amsterdam Bible in 1895. From 1899 until his death, he was president of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Naples. Morelli late in life won many awards and distinctions. he was named honorary professor of the principal academies of Italy and Europe, commendatore of the Order of SS. Maurizio e Lazzaro and of the Order of the Crown of Italy, and . In June, 1886, he was knighted a senator by the King. He died on 13 August 1901 in Naples. Among his many pupils were Giuseppe Costa,

Francesco Paolo Michetti Francesco Paolo Michetti (October 2, 1851 – March 5, 1929) was an Italian painter known especially for his genre works. Biography He was born in Tocco da Casauria in the Province of Chieti. His father having died when he was a boy, Michetti ...

, Vittorio Matteo Corcos,

Giuseppe Boschetto Giuseppe Boschetto (1841–1918) was an Italian painter, active mainly in Naples, painting often ancient Roman subjects, a thematic often characterized as ''Pompeian'' or perhaps, more aptly ''Neo-Pompeian''. He trained initially with Gustavo M ...

, Camillo Miola,

Edoardo Tofano Edoardo Tofano (Naples, 1838 - Rome, 1920) was an Italian painter. He painted historic, genre and Orientalist themes. Biography He began his studies at the Albertina Academy of Turin, but completed studies at the Accademia Clementina of Bologn ...

, Antonio Mancini and Enrico Salfi. Morelli designed the frescoes painted for the tomb of

Giacomo Leopardi Count Giacomo Taldegardo Francesco di Sales Saverio Pietro Leopardi (, ; 29 June 1798 – 14 June 1837) was an Italian philosopher, poet, essayist, and philologist. He is considered the greatest Italian poet of the nineteenth century and one of ...

, located in the church of San Vitale at Fuorigrotta, but they were completed posthumously by his son-in-law, Paolo Vetri. Antonio Mancini (Life and Work)

Gallery

File:Domenico Morelli 009.jpg, ''Neophyte'', 1851 File:Domenico Morelli - I martiri cristiani.png, ''Christian Martyrs'', 1851 File:Domenico Morelli - Ritratto di donna in rosso.jpg, ''Girl in Red'', 1855 File:Domenico Morelli 010.jpg, ''Angels carry Martyrs'', 1855 File:Domenico Morelli 006.jpg, ''Guinevere kisses Lancelot'' File:Domenico Morelli 005.jpg, ''Sultan's wife returns from the Bath'' File:I Vespri Siciliani - Domenico Morelli 1823-1901.jpg, ''

Sicilian Vespers The Sicilian Vespers ( it, Vespri siciliani; scn, Vespiri siciliani) was a successful rebellion on the island of Sicily that broke out at Easter 1282 against the rule of the French-born king Charles I of Anjou, who had ruled the Kingdom of ...

'' File:Domenico Morelli 003.jpg, ''Pompeian Bath'', 1861 File:Domenico Morelli 008.jpg, '' Maria De Medici visits Ruben's studio'', 1861 File:Domenico Morelli 004.jpg, ''Tasso reads his poem to Eleonora d'Este'', 1865 File:Coat of arms of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.svg, ''Gemini'', 1870s File:Domenico Morelli 001.jpg, ''Sermon of Mohammed'', 1890s File:Domenico Morelli - Le tentazioni di Sant'Antonio.jpg, ''Temptation of St Anthony'' File:Domenico Morelli - Cristo che veglia gli apostoli.jpg, Christ watches over Apostles, 1891 File:Domenico Morelli Noahs Dankgebet.jpg, ''Noah gives Thanks for Deliverance'', 1901

References

Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morelli, Domeico 19th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Realist artists 19th-century Neapolitan people 1823 births 1901 deaths Academic art People of the First Italian War of Independence Accademia di Belle Arti di Napoli alumni Accademia di Belle Arti di Napoli faculty 19th-century Italian male artists