Antonio Piccinni (May 14, 1846 – January 26, 1920) was an Italian painter, mainly of watercolors. He was also an engraver, facile in the engraving of diverse subjects, from history, landscape, portrait, and sacred subjects.

Biography

He was born in

Trani Trani () is a seaport of Apulia, Southern Italy, on the Adriatic Sea, by railway west-northwest of Bari. It is one of the capital cities of the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani (BAT). History Overview The city of ''Turenum'' appears for the ...

Apulia Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...

, but mainly resided in Naples and later Rome. As an infant, Piccinni was left nearly deaf by an illness. As a young man, he moved to

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

to work under the painter Biagio Molinaro, by the 1860s he had enrolled in the Institute of Fine Arts of Naples, and studied engraving. In 1872, he won a stipend to study in the Academy of Fine Arts in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. He still relayed engravings for sale by the Neapolitan "Società Promotrice delle Belle Arti", and maintained a contract with the Royal Office of Engraving (Calcografia). In 1878 he participated in the Universal Exposition in Paris with several works including 12 unpublished etchings, gathered in an album titled "Souvenirs de Rome", with a preface by

Jules Claretie Jules is the French form of the Latin "Julius" (e.g. Jules César, the French name for Julius Caesar). In the anglosphere, it is also used for females although it is still a predominantly masculine name.One of the few notable examples of a femal ...

. He was named Honorary Professor of the

Institute of Fine Arts of Naples The Accademia di Belle Arti di Napoli (Naples Academy of Fine Arts) is a university-level art school in Naples. In the past it has been known as the Reale Istituto di Belle Arti and the Reale Accademia di Belle Arti. Founded by King Charles VII o ...

. In 1877 at Naples, he exhibited an acquaforte engraving depicting: ''Revolution of Masaniello''; in 1888 at Turin, ''Portraits of Vittorio Emanuele and King Umberto'' and ''I centesimi dell' avaro''. At Rome, in 1883, he exhibited: ''A predica''; at Venice, in 1887, a watercolor depicting: ''Un fiammiferaio''; at Bologna, in 1888, two watercolors titled: ''The birichino'' and ''Una giovanetto''. Admiral G. B. Magnaghi, director of the Italian Hydrographic Institute of the Navy hired him in 1889 to produce

vedute A ''veduta'' (; : ''vedute'') is a highly detailed, usually large-scale painting or, more often, print of a cityscape or some other vista. The painters of ''vedute'' are referred to as ''vedutisti''. Origins This genre of landscape originated ...

of the coast and nautical charts. He was offered a stable pension in a supervisory position, office in Rome, and travel on a ship, the ''Washington'', to circumnavigate around the Italian coast. In 1904, after admiral Magnaghi died, Piccinni contract was not renewed, but he remained with the Navy until 1917. After 25 years of service, Piccinni was retired on a paltry pension.''Riding the Wave'' or ''Sulla Cresta dell'Onda''
, a website of things oceanographic and Italian, short biography.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Piccini, Antonio 19th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 20th-century Italian painters 1846 births 1920 deaths Painters from Naples 19th-century Italian male artists 20th-century Italian male artists 20th-century Italian engravers