Adolfo Belimbau (1845–1938) was an Italian painter.

Biography

He was born in a

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo met ...

, Egypt to an Italian Sephardic Jewish family from Tuscany. He lived most of his life in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

or Livorno. He trained under a painter named Provenzal in Livorno. At the age of 17, he went into commerce, and returned to art only after 11 years. In 1886, he helped organize in the Exhibition of Fine Arts in Livorno, a town which was becoming a summer beach destination. Among his works is the painting ''L'uscita dal lavoro'' (Exit from work), which depicts a long line of women exiting a factory, devolving into animated chatter after a long day of work. At the 1887 Mostra of Venice, he displayed ''Aiselia'' and ''Prima del minuetto''. This latter airy painting was reproduced by ''Illustrazione di Milan'' and later in an illustrated German journal. His later paintings became more rich and depicted leisurely activities.

Luigi Chirtani Luigi Archinti (1825 – Milan, February 5, 1902) was an Italian art historian, art critic, and painter. Born to an aristocratic family in Milan. He studied at the Venetian Academy of Fine Arts (1842-1848), and then in Accademia Albertina ...

mockingly claimed that the late Belimbau catered to his wealthy buyers, and gone was the haggard and proletarian bent of the ''uscita'' painting:

''Once this artist preferred themes of the hard life of the people, workers, artisans, poor people of all sorts, and now, with more agreement with his inclinations and noble gentleman, he prefers those most likely to appear in those rooms where they hang on the walls and distribute the notebooks on the shelves, on fireplaces, objects d 'art for luxury and home decoration.''

Belimbau was influenced by 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 ...

painters, and was a colleague and friend of the painters

Vittorio Matteo Corcos Vittorio Matteo Corcos (4 October 1859 – 8 November 1933) was an Italian painter, known for his portraits. Many of his genre works depict winsome and finely dressed young men and women, in moments of repose and recreation. Biography He was bo ...

Ulvi Liegi Ulvi Liegi (born Luigi Mosè Levi; 1858–1939) was an Italian painter and printmaker. Part of the Post-macchiaioli movement, he painted various cityscapes of Livorno and depictions of Livornese daily life. Biography Luigi Levi, who signed hi ...

, and

Alberto Pisa Alberto Pisa (March 19, 1864 – 1936) was an Italian painter, often painting ruins, landscapes, and garden views in bright watercolor. Early life and education He was born in Ferrara and initially studied there with Gaetano Domenichini. He late ...

. At a Promotrice di Firenze he displayed ''A Fountain in Livorno'', in which returned to painting street scenes. He also painted the sentimental ''Une page d'Amour''. He continued patronage of art in his later years, for example, establishing the Fondazione Livornese di studi ebraici "Adolfo Belimbau".of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester, By Henry Guppy page 162.
/ref>

References

1845 births 1938 deaths Livornese Jews 19th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 20th-century Italian painters 20th-century Italian male artists Painters from Tuscany Jewish painters 19th-century Italian male artists {{Italy-painter-19thC-stub