Gustavo Simoni (5 November 1845, 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, ...

– 10 May 1926, in

Palestrina Palestrina (ancient ''Praeneste''; , ''Prainestos'') is a modern Italian city and ''comune'' (municipality) with a population of about 22,000, in Lazio, about east of Rome. It is connected to the latter by the Via Prenestina. It is built upon ...

) was an Italian painter,

watercolorist Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting metho ...

and art teacher. He is best known for his Orientalist scenes.

Biography

His father, Antonio, was a barber who originally came from . He had a younger brother, who, with his encouragement, also became a painter. beginning in 1877, he travelled extensively, visiting France, Spain and, especially, North Africa, where he made several lengthy stays in

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

. In 1889, he won a gold medal at the

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

for his monumental depiction of the burning of

Persepolis Persepolis (; ; ) was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (). It is situated in the plains of Marvdasht, encircled by the southern Zagros mountains, Fars province of Iran. It is one of the key Iranian cultural heritage sites and ...

. King

Umberto I Umberto I (; 14 March 1844 – 29 July 1900) was King of Italy from 9 January 1878 until his assassination in 1900. His reign saw Italy's expansion into the Horn of Africa, as well as the creation of the Triple Alliance among Italy, Germany an ...

was among his regular clients. He was also a member of 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; ...

. In the 1890s, he opened a studio in Paris and started a school for Orientalist painting in Rome. When he returned there, he lived in farmhouse that had been renovated by his son-in-law, the architect . He had five children altogether, three of whom became painters: Paolo (1882-1960), Mario (1885-1953), who specialized in

still-life A still life (: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or human-made (drinking glasses, books, ...

s, and Ettore (1895-?), who emigrated to

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

and painted desert landscapes. In addition to his Orientalist scenes, he created

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 ...

scenes, plus highly imaginative historical scenes from ancient Rome and the 17th century. the 18th century. He was one of the original members of the . His works, however, are generally more familiar among watercolorists in England than in Italy. Outside of Italy, his works may be seen in Glasgow, Leipzig, Melbourne and New York.

Maria Martinetti Maria Martinetti (1864–1921) was an Italian painter. She was a student of Gustavo Simoni. She lived and exhibited in Italy and France. In 1890 she moved to the United States. She is known for her genre paintings. Biography Martinetti was born ...

and were, perhaps, his best known students.

Sources

* Gian Francesco Lomonaco. ''Acquerelli dell'Ottocento'', La Società degli Acquarellisti a Roma, 1987 * Renato Mammucari, ''Acquerellisti romani: suggestioni neoclassiche, esotismo orientale, decadentismo bizantino, realismo borghese'', Edimond, 2001

External links

More works by Simoni
@ ArtNet {{DEFAULTSORT:Simoni, Gustavo 1845 births 1926 deaths Italian painters Italian orientalists Italian genre painters Painters from Rome