Nestore Leoni (14 February 1862 in

L'Aquila L'Aquila ( ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy. It is the capital city of the Province of L'Aquila and the Abruzzo region in Italy. , it has a population of 69,902. Laid out within medieval walls on a hill in the wide valley of the A ...

Abruzzo Abruzzo (, ; ; , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; ), historically also known as Abruzzi, is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four ...

– 1947) was an Italian painter and illuminator of manuscripts (miniatore). He was a resident of

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

. Initially, he studied in L'Aquila, but later dedicated himself to the study of classic manuscript illumination, particularly in the Florentine Libraries, striving to imitate antique styles. Among his earliest works was the cover of an album commemorating the visit of Emperor William II of Germany to Rome, which received praised from Niccolo Barabino, a professor in Florence. Leoni was also commissioned to create designs for porcelain and documents commemorating special occasions, such as a document from the

Società Filarmonica Fiorentina ''Società'' (Italian language, Italian: ''Society'') was an Italian communist cultural magazine published in Italy between 1945 and 1961. History and profile ''Società'' was founded as a quarterly magazine in Florence in 1945. The founders we ...

to Madame Hastreiter, after a charity concert. Cavaliere Civelli commissioned him to design covers for his edition of ''

La Vita Nuova ''La Vita Nuova'' (; modern Italian for "The New Life") or ''Vita Nova'' (Latin and medieval Italian title ) is a text by Dante Alighieri published in 1294. It is an expression of the medieval genre of courtly love in a prosimetrum style, a ...

'' by

Dante Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

, which he decorated on

parchment Parchment is a writing material made from specially prepared Tanning (leather), untanned skins of animals—primarily sheep, calves and goats. It has been used as a writing medium in West Asia and Europe for more than two millennia. By AD 400 ...

, in a style from the 1500s, reproduced using

chromolithography Chromolithography is a method for making multi-colour printmaking, prints in lithography, and in theory includes all types of lithography that are printed in colour. However, in modern usage it is normally restricted to 19th-century works, and ...

. He also completed in similar style the ''Canzone di

Cino da Pistoia Cino da Pistoia (1270 – 1336) was an Italian jurist and poet. He was the university teacher of Bartolus de Saxoferrato and a friend and intellectual influence on Dante Alighieri. Life Cino was born in Pistoia, Tuscany. His full name was ' ...

'' to Dante, on Death of Beatrice, offered to the queen of Italy in occasion of the centenary of

Beatrice Portinari Beatrice "Bice" di Folco Portinari (; 1265 – 8 or 19 June 1290) was an Italian woman who has been commonly identified as the principal inspiration for Dante Alighieri's '' Vita Nuova'', and is also identified with the Beatrice who acts as ...

. ''Dizionario degli Artisti Italiani Viventi: pittori, scultori, e Architetti.''
by Angelo de Gubernatis. Tipe dei Successori Le Monnier, 1889, page 259.

References

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*. 19th-century Italian painters 19th-century Italian male artists Italian male painters 20th-century Italian painters 20th-century Italian male artists 1862 births 1947 deaths Painters from Florence Italian manuscript illuminators People from L'Aquila {{Italy-painter-19thC-stub