Camillo Guerra (21 May 1797 – 10 March 1874) was an Italian painter of portraits and historical scenes.

Biography

Guerra was born in

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 ...

, Italy, to a family of artists. His father Pasquale, however, was the head of a crew performing excavations at

Pompeii Pompeii ( ; ) was a city in what is now the municipality of Pompei, near Naples, in the Campania region of Italy. Along with Herculaneum, Stabiae, and Villa Boscoreale, many surrounding villas, the city was buried under of volcanic ash and p ...

. At the age of twelve he began to study drawing at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, under Costanzo Angelini. In 1822, he won a prize that led him to a scholarship in Rome under

Tommaso Conca Tommaso Maria Conca (1734–1822), was an Italian painter and draftsman, active mostly in Rome. Biography Tommaso Conca was born in Gaeta, one of the youngest of some eleven siblings, to Giovanni Conca and Anna Laura Scarsella di Castro. His ...

. He was also influenced by

Vincenzo Camuccini Vincenzo Camuccini (22 February 1771 – 2 September 1844) was an Italian Neoclassicism, Neoclassical painter. He was considered the premier academic painter of his time in Rome. Biography Early life and education Camuccini was born in Rome, ...

and

Pietro Benvenuti Pietro Benvenuti (8 January 1769 – 3 February 1844) was an Italian Neoclassicism, Neoclassical painter. Biography Early life and education Born in Arezzo in Tuscany, he was influenced by the style of Jacques-Louis David. He was a student of ...

, who inspired him to paint historical and mythological subjects. Early on, his career became linked to patronage from the Bourbon Royal Family. His first commission came in 1826, when he painted

overdoor An "overdoor" (or "Supraporte" as in German, or "sopraporte" as in Italian) is a painting, bas-relief or decorative panel, generally in a horizontal format, that is set, typically within ornamental mouldings, over a door, or was originally intend ...

s for the

Royal Palace of Caserta The Royal Palace of Caserta ( ; ) is a former royal residence in Caserta, Campania, north of Naples in southern Italy, constructed by the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies as their main residence as Kingdom of Naples, kings of Naples. The complex ...

. That same year, he was awarded a gold medal at the Bourbon Exhibition. The following year, he was named an honorary professor at the Academy. In 1829, he collaborated with the art historian Erasmo Pistolesi (1770–1860) on an eight-volume illustrated book about artifacts in the Vatican. In 1830, he created an altarpiece depicting the "Glory of St.Joseph" at the church of San Francesco di Paola, commissioned by King Francis I . The Chair of painting at the Academy became vacant in 1834 and, after a competition, he was named Professor. In that position, he undertook significant changes in teaching practices, promoted the revival of

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

painting and adopted the practice of copying from life. He also superintended the restoration of works at the Bourbon Museum. In 1836, he married Nicolina Ametrano and they had eight children. His son Alfonso (1845–1920) became a well-known architect. In the 1840s, with Gennaro Maldarelli, Filippo Marsigli, and Giuseppe Cammarano, he helped decorate rooms in the Royal Palace, now part of the

Biblioteca Nazionale Vittorio Emanuele III The (''Victor Emmanuel III National Library'') is a national library of Italy. It occupies the eastern wing of the 18th-century Palazzo Reale in Naples, at 1 Piazza del Plebiscito, and has entrances from piazza Trieste e Trento. It is funded an ...

. From 1846 to 1852, he painted an imposing fresco of the ''Celestial Paradise'', based on a vision of

St John the Evangelist John the Evangelist ( – ) is the name traditionally given to the author of the Gospel of John. Christians have traditionally identified him with John the Apostle, John of Patmos, and John the Presbyter, although there is no consensus on h ...

, in the

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...

of the Church of the Gerolomini (partly destroyed in 1943)

References

External links

Biography
by Maura Picciau, 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 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guerra, Camillo 1797 births 1874 deaths Artists from the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies 19th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Italian neoclassical painters Painters from Naples Fresco painters 19th-century Italian male artists

Biography

References

Further reading

External links