Francesco Saverio Altamura (5 August 1822 – 5 January 1897) was an Italian painter, known for Romantic style canvases depicting mainly historical events.

Biography

left, ''Medieval Marriage: Marriage of Buondelmonte'' He was born in Foggia, but moved to Naples in 1840, initially with the aim to study medicine. He was enrolled in the school of the Scolopi priests. But his interests led him to attend the Accademia di Belle Arti alongside

Domenico Morelli Domenico Morelli (4 August 182313 August 1901) was an Italian 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 d ...

. he also befriended

Michele De Napoli Michele de Napoli (April 28, 1808 – March 24, 1892) was an Italian painter, mainly of grand manner historic and religious paintings in a Neoclassic style in Naples, Italy. Biography He was born in Terlizzi, in the province of Bari to Giuseppe ...

. But like his friend, he became part of the protests during the insurrection of 1848. He fought in the barricades of Santa Brigida. He was briefly arrested, and condemned to death, and upon which he fled into exile in L'Aquila, then by 1850 to Florence. There he entered into the circle of artists frequenting the

Caffè Michelangiolo Caffè Michelangiolo was a historic café in Florence, located in Via Larga (now renamed Via Cavour). During the nineteenth century Wars of Italian Independence, it became a major meeting place for Tuscan writers and artists, and for patriots and ...

, and the painters of the Tuscan school of 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 t ...

. Yet Francesco's paintings, unlike those of the ''Macchiaioli'', were focused on historic and political events. In 1855, with Morelli and

Serafino De Tivoli Serafino De Tivoli (March 18261892) was an Italian painter of the Macchiaioli group. Biography He was born in Livorno. After initial study of literature at a religious private school in Florence, he began his artistic training under Carlo Mark ...

, he traveled to the World Exposition at Paris. In 1860, he returned to Naples, this time fighting alongside the forces of Giuseppe Garibaldi. He then became active in politics as well as art. In 1861, he submitted the painting of the ''Funeral of Buondelmonte'' to the "Prima esposizione nazionale" held in Florence. In 1865, he frescoed the chapel of the Palazzo Reale of Naples. In 1892, he painted five altarpieces and four canvases for the restored parish church of

Castrignano de' Greci Castrignano de' Greci (Griko: , ''Kascignàna''; Salentino: ) is a small town and '' comune'' of 4,107 inhabitants in the province of Lecce in Apulia, southern Italy. It is one of the nine towns of Grecìa Salentina. The inhabitants of Castrigna ...

in the province of Lecce. His first wife, Elena Bùkuras, was a Greek painter, with whom he had three children, a daughter, Sofia, and two sons who became painters

Ioannis Ioannis or Ioannes ( el, Ιωάννης), shortened to Giannis or Yannis (Γιάννης) is a Greek given name cognate with Johannes and John and the Arabic name Yahya . Notable people with the name include: * Ioannis I, Tzimiskis, Byzantine Emp ...

and Alessandro. But he then had two further companions, the Greek painter Eleni Sionti, and finally the painter

Jane Benham Hay Jane Benham (born 1829, also Jane Benham Hay and Jaine Benham Hay) was a prominent English painter and illustrator of the Victorian period. She was associated with two important artistic movements of the mid-19th century: the Pre-Raphaelite ...

, with whom he had a son, painter

Bernardo Hay Bernardo is a given name and less frequently an Italian, Portuguese and Spanish surname. Possibly from the Germanic "Bernhard". Given name People * Bernardo the Japanese (died 1557), early Japanese Christian convert and disciple of Saint Fra ...

. Among the pupils of Altamura was

Vincenzo Acquaviva Vincenzo Acquaviva (1832 – September 7, 1902) was an Italian painter. He was born in Foggia. When he was but seven years old, he trained for a year under Domenico Caldara in Foggia. In 1848, he was admitted to the Institute of Fine Arts i ...

. Francesco died in Naples. In 1901, a monument in his honor was erected in Foggia.

References

*Translated from Italian Wikipedia entry * {{DEFAULTSORT:Altamura Francesco Saverio 19th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 1822 births 1897 deaths Painters from Naples Painters from Tuscany Accademia di Belle Arti di Napoli alumni People from Foggia 19th-century Italian male artists