Antonio Giacomo Caimi (16 April 1811,

Sondrio Sondrio (; ; ; archaic or ; ) is an Italian city, ''comune'' and administrative centre for the province of Sondrio, located in the heart of the Valtellina. , Sondrio counted approximately 21,876 inhabitants. In 2007, Sondrio was named the Alpine ...

– 5 January 1878,

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

) was an Italian portrait painter, author, and professor at the

Brera Academy The Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera (), also known as the or Brera Academy, is a state-run tertiary public academy of fine arts in Milan, Italy. It shares its history, and its main building, with the Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan's main public mu ...

Biography

He trained initially at the

Accademia Carrara The Accademia Carrara, (), officially Accademia Carrara di Belle Arti di Bergamo, is an art gallery and an academy of fine arts in Bergamo, in Lombardy in northern Italy. The art gallery was established in about 1780 by , a Bergamasco collecto ...

Bergamo Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from the alpine lakes Lake Como, Como and Lake Iseo, Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Lake Garda, Garda and Lake ...

under Giuseppe Diotti, then moved to the Brera Academy, where he studied with Luigi Sabatelli. After graduating, he spent some time copying the

Old Masters In art history, "Old Master" (or "old master")Old Masters De ...

in Florence and Rome. He was also influenced by the works of his friend,

Francesco Hayez Francesco Hayez (; 10 February 1791 – 12 February 1882) was an Italian painter. He is considered one of the leading artists of Romanticism in mid-19th-century Milan, and is renowned for his grand historical paintings, political allegories, and ...

. Throughout the 1840s, he exhibited in Milan, at the Academy then, in the 1850s, focused on the "Society for the Promotion of Fine Arts" in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

. His painting of Columbus, explaining his plans to reach India, was purchased by

Charles Albert of Sardinia Charles Albert (; 2 October 1798 – 28 July 1849) was the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), King of Sardinia and ruler of the Savoyard state from 27 April 1831 until his abdication in 1849. His name is bound up with the first Italian constit ...

.Biography of Caimi
by Serenita Papaldo, from the ''

Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani The ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani'' () is a biographical dictionary published in 100 volumes by the Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, started in 1960 and completed in 2020. It includes about 40,000 biographies of distinguished Italia ...

'' @

Treccani Institute Giovanni Treccani for the publication of the Italian Encyclopedia (), also known as Treccani Institute or simply Treccani, is a cultural institution of national interest, active in the publishing field, founded by Giovanni Treccani ...

In 1860, he became a teacher at the Academy and served as its Secretary. He also served on several commissions and committees, including one that oversaw archaeological projects for the

Province of Sondrio The province of Sondrio (), also known as Valtellina (the major valley of the province) is a province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its provincial capital is the city of Sondrio. As of 2024, it has a population of 179,165. History The prov ...

. In 1876, he was on a commission that supervised preservation of the monuments at the Church of San Giovanni in Conca, which was due to be demolished.''Storia di Milano,'' XV'','' Milano 1962, pp. 416 The church was emptied of its art in the 1890s and was essentially a warehouse, until its actual demolition after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. His best known book was ''Delle arti del designo e degli artisti nelle provincie di Lombardia dal 1777 al 1862'' (The Arts of Design, and the Lombardian Artists from 1777 to 1862), published on the occasion of the

International Exhibition A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...

in London. Caimi-Columbus

In 1873, he published two works on the history and contents of local museums: ''Cenno storico sul museo patrio di archeologia in Milano'' (The Civic Archaeological Museum) and ''La pinacoteca della Regia Accademia di Belle Arti in Milano'' (The gallery at the Brera Academy).

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caimi, Antonio 1811 births 1878 deaths People from Sondrio 19th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Painters from Milan Italian art historians Academic staff of Brera Academy 19th-century Italian male artists Painters from the Austrian Empire

Biography

References

Further reading

External links