Giuseppe Aureli (December 5, 1858 – 9 August 1929) was an Italian painter and watercolourist. His work is noted for its historical subject matter, portraits of Italian noble families as well as genre paintings and local scenes, especially work with Oriental themes.

Life and work

Giuseppe Aureli was born in Rome in 1858. He received his early art education at the

Accademia di San Luca The Accademia di San Luca () is an Italian academy of artists in Rome. The establishment of the Accademia de i Pittori e Scultori di Roma was approved by papal brief in 1577, and in 1593 Federico Zuccari became its first ''principe'' or director; ...

where he was the pupil of Pietro Gabrini and

Cesare Maccari Cesare Maccari (; 9 May 1840 – 7 August 1919) was an Italian painter and sculptor, most famous for his 1888 painting ''Cicerone denuncia Catilina'' (usually translated as ''Cicero Accuses Catiline'' or ''Cicero Denounces Catiline''). Early li ...

. He exhibited in various exhibitions; including: The International Exhibition of 1888 in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

and the

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ...

of 1893 in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, but his Oriental works were rarely included in these early exhibitions. Having his workshop at 48

Via Margutta Via Margutta is a narrow street in the centre of Rome, near Piazza del Popolo, accessible from Via del Babuino in the ancient Campo Marzio neighborhood also known as ''"the foreigner's quarter"''. Mount Pincio is nearby. Via Margutta origi ...

in Rome, Aureli was in a position to exchange ideas with the most prolific Orientalist artists at that the time. He used the same staircase that led to a rabbit-warren of studios including those of Filippo Bartolini (1861-1908), Enrico Tarenghi, Nazzareno Cipriani, all considered to be among Rome's master Orientalists, and the illustrator,

Ettore Ximenes Ettore Ximenes (11 April 1855 20 December 1926) was an Italian sculptor. Biography Ettore Ximenes was born 11 April 1855 in Palermo, Italy. Son of Antonio Ximenes and Giulia Tolentino, a Sicilian noble woman, Ettore Ximenes initially embarked o ...

. With those influences, Aureli began painting more works with Oriental subject matter such as harem scenes and exotic beauties. He died in 1929 in Anzio. Although Aureli derives his reputation primarily from his paintings of historic Italy and portraits of the Italian Royal family, his work features many representations of Oriental scenes including: harems, guards, Arabic bazaars and street life. His Oriental work typically includes elements such as exotic musical instruments, leopard skin, Moroccan ceramics and greenhouse plants.Juler, C., ''Les Orientalistes de l'école Italienne,'' rench edition Paris, ARC, 1994, p. 20 He worked in watercolours and oils. Examples of his work can be found in the

Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna The ("National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art"), also known as La Galleria Nazionale, is an art museum in Rome. It was founded in 1883 on the initiative of the then minister Guido Baccelli and is dedicated to modern and contemporary ar ...

and L'Aula del Consiglio Provinciale de Rome and in private collections.

Selected paintings

File:The Monk with Onions.jpg, ''The Monk with Onions'' File:A welcome visitor by Giuseppe Aureli - date unknown.jpg, ''A Welcome Visitor'' File:Oriental beauty with stringed instrument by Guiseppe Aureli-date unk.jpg, ''Oriental Beauty with Stringed Instrument'' File:The monk-by guiseppe aureli-date unk.jpg, ''The Monk'' File:Aureli-Romance.jpg, ''Romance in the
Wine Cellar''

Select list of paintings

* ''An Appointment for Hunting in 1500s''. (Rome, 1883) * ''Carica Lancieri Aosta at the Battle of Custoza'' (Rome, 1866) * ''Romance in the Wine Cellar'' (1881) * '' Emmanuel Philibert returns to

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 ...

after the Battle of St. Quentin'' (Turin, 1884) * ''Introduction Among the Ruins'' (1885) * ''Idle Hours in the Harem'' * ''Gossips in the Harem'' * ''The Water Carrier'' * ''Margaret of Valois reaches her husband Henry of Navarre (Bologna, 1888) * ''Henry of Navarre domanda a Carlo IX the hand of his sister Margaret (Monaco, 1888) * ''Marriage of Henry of Navarra and Margaret of Valois under Charles IX'' (Paris). * ''Woman with Stringed Instrument'' * ''Harem Scene'' * ''Oriental Beauty'' (n.d.) Mathaf Gallery, London

References

External links

More works by Aureli
@ ArtNet {{DEFAULTSORT:Aureli, Giuseppe 1858 births 1929 deaths 19th-century Italian painters 20th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Italian Orientalist painters 19th-century Italian male artists 20th-century Italian male artists