Giuseppe Bonito (11 January 1707 – 9 May 1789) was a

Neapolitan Neapolitan means of or pertaining to Naples, a city in Italy; or to: Geography and history * Province of Naples, a province in the Campania region of southern Italy that includes the city * Duchy of Naples, in existence during the Early and High ...

painter of the

Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

period. Giuseppe Bonito is known for

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

depictions on canvas. Many of

Gaspare Traversi Gaspare Traversi (February 1722 – 1 November 1770) was an Italian Rococo painter best known for his genre works. Active mostly in his native city of Naples, he also painted throughout Italy, including a stay in Parma. Biography Early ...

's paintings had previously been attributed to Bonito.

Biography

Eary life and education

Bonito was born at

Castellammare di Stabia Castellammare di Stabia (; ) is a (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Campania region, in southern Italy. It is situated on the Bay of Naples about southeast of Naples, on the route to Sorrento. History Castellammare di Stabia ...

, and, like Traversi, was a student at the large studio of

Francesco Solimena Francesco Solimena (4 October 1657 – 3 April 1747) was a prolific Italian Baroque painter, one of an established family of painters and draughtsmen. Biography Francesco Solimena was born in Canale di Serino in the province of Avellino. H ...

. One of his contemporaries there was

. Bonito represented urban scenes with folklore details and figures of

commedia dell'arte Commedia dell'arte was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Theatre of Italy, Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is a ...

Court painter

Between the 1736 and 1742 Bonito worked for the House of Borbon in the royal

Palace of Portici The Royal Palace of Portici (''Reggia di Portici'' or ''Palazzo Reale di Portici''; ) is a former royal palace in Portici, Southeast of Naples along the coast, in the region of Campania, Italy. It now contains a museum complex (''Musei della Reg ...

. ''The Turkish Ambassador in Naples in 1741'' (1742; Madrid,

Museo del Prado The Museo del Prado ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It houses collections of Art of Europe, European art, dating from the 12th century to the early 20th ce ...

), probably his first royal portrait commission, exhibits the intense

realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *American Realism *Classical Realism *Liter ...

, carefully modelled light and naturalistic detail that thereafter distinguished his portraiture from that of his court predecessors, notably

Pompeo Batoni Pompeo Girolamo Batoni (25 January 1708 – 4 February 1787) was an Italian painter who displayed a solid technical knowledge in his portrait work and in his numerous Allegory, allegorical and mythological pictures. The high number of foreign vis ...

. Portraits from this period include the series of nine paintings representing the Children of

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

(1748; Madrid, Museo del Prado). He also painted portraits of the wife of Charles III,

Maria Amalia of Saxony Maria Amalia (Maria Amalia Christina Franziska Xaveria Flora Walburga; 24 November 1724 – 27 September 1760) was Queen of Spain from 10 August 1759 until her death in 1760 as the wife of King Charles III. Previously, she had been Queen of Nap ...

, wife of the Charles VII. Throughout the 1750s Bonito was also active as a designer and adviser on artistic matters to the Bourbon court. He was appointed pittore di camera in 1751, elected to 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; ...

, Rome, in 1752 and from 1755 onwards was director of the

Accademia di Belle Arti di Napoli 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 ...

. He executed a variety of royal commissions, including designs for commemorative medals and

tapestries Tapestry is a form of textile art which was traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Normally it is used to create images rather than patterns. Tapestry is relatively fragile, and difficult to make, so most historical pieces are intended to han ...

; among the latter are episodes from the ''Story of Don Quixote'' (designed 1758; tapestries,

Royal Palace of Naples The Royal Palace of Naples () is a historic building located in Piazza del Plebiscito, in the historic center of Naples, Italy. Although the main entrance is located in this square, there are other accesses to the complex, which also includes th ...

). He also continued to produce portraits, including the ''Portrait of a Neapolitan Gentlewoman'' (c. 1754–5; Bergamo, priv. col.) and the beguiling double portrait of Prince Ferdinand and Prince Gabriel (c. 1759; Naples,

National Museum of San Martino The National Museum of San Martino is a museum opened to the public in Naples in 1866, after the unification of Italy, after the Charterhouse included among the suppressed ecclesiastical assets, was declared a national monument. By the will of the ...

). His most acclaimed painting of the 1750s was the di sotto in sù vault fresco of the ''Dedication of Solomon’s Temple'' (1752–8; Naples, Santa Chiara), which exhibited the rich colours and deeply shaded contours characteristic of his style throughout the middle part of the century.

Later work

In the late 1750s Bonito’s religious paintings became more

in style and spirit. The ''Crucifixion'' and the ''Holy Family'' (both c. 1757; Naples, Santi Giovanni e Teresa) incorporated paler tones and more diffused contours than he had used previously. A further, late transition in Bonito’s style is evident in the badly damaged ''Immaculate Conception'' of the 1780s (

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 ...

), which has the languid rhythms, pale luminosity and rich surface textures typical of the 18th-century Rococo style elsewhere in Europe. A late Self-portrait (1785–9) is also perserved (Florence,

Uffizi The Uffizi Gallery ( ; , ) is a prominent art museum adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian museums and the most visited, it is also one of th ...

). Bonito died 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 ...

on 9 May 1789. One of his pupils was

Angelo Mozzillo Angelo Mozzillo (24 October 1736 in Afragola – May 1810, in Nola) was an Italian painter of the late Baroque, active near Naples, Italy. He initially trained with a Giuseppe Bonito (Peppariello). After 1758, he left Afragola and moved to ...

. Bonito is also thought to have executed a great number of genre pictures, but this aspect of his career remains uncertain and controversial.

Gallery

Giuseppe Bonito (attr) Gruppenportrait von drei adeligen Kindern.jpg, Family Portrait 'The Immaculate Conception' by Giuseppe Bonito.jpg, The Immaculate Conception Bonito-embajada turca.jpg, The Turkish Ambassador in Naples in 1741 Giuseppe Bonito Concertino.jpg, Concertino L'atelier del pittore by Giuseppe Bonito.jpg, The Painter's Studio Carlos de Borbón, rey de las Dos Sicilias.jpg, Charles VII Maria Amalia of Saxony as Queen of Naples (wife of Carlo VII) by Guiseppe Bonito.jpg, Maria Amalia of Saxony Giuseppe Bonito Portrait of a boy.jpg, Portrait of a boy (Narbonne) Portrait de jeune fille 1745 - Giuseppe Bonito - Musée des Beaux-Arts de Narbonne.jpg, Portrait of a girl

References

*
Museum Network; legend for Bowes Museum piece.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonito, Giuseppe 1707 births 1789 deaths People from Castellammare di Stabia Painters from Campania 18th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Painters from Naples Italian Baroque painters Rococo painters 18th-century Italian male artists Artists from the Kingdom of Naples