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 Foggia (, ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) of Apulia, in Southern Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. In 2013, its population was 153,143. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere delle Puglie, Tavoliere, also know ...

, 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. he also befriended Michele De Napoli. 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 L'Aquila ( ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy. It is the capital city of the Province of L'Aquila and the Abruzzo region in Italy. , it has a population of 69,902. Laid out within medieval walls on a hill in the wide valley of the A ...

, then by 1850 to Florence. There he entered into the circle of artists frequenting the Caffè Michelangiolo, and the painters of the Tuscan school of the Macchiaioli. Yet Francesco's paintings, unlike those of the ''Macchiaioli'', were focused on historic and political events. In 1855, with Morelli and Serafino De Tivoli, he traveled to the World Exposition at Paris. In 1860, he returned to Naples, this time fighting alongside the forces of

Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as (). In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as () or (). 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, revolutionary and republican. H ...

. 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 Lecce (; ) is a city in southern Italy and capital of the province of Lecce. It is on the Salentine Peninsula, at the heel of the Italian Peninsula, and is over two thousand years old. Because of its rich Baroque architecture, Lecce is n ...

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

and Alessandro. But he then had two further companions, the Greek painter Eleni Sionti, and finally the painter Jane Benham Hay, with whom he had a son, painter Bernardo Hay. Among the pupils of Altamura was Vincenzo Acquaviva. Francesco died in Naples. In 1901, a monument in his honor was erected in Foggia.

References

* {{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 Artists from the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies