Plinio Nomellini (6 August 1866,

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...

– 8 August 1943,

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 ...

) was an Italian painter in the Divisionist style.

Biography

He was born to Coriolano Nomellini, a customs official, and his wife Cesira née Menocci.Biography
by Mattia Patti, 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 ...

'' @

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In 1883 and 1884, he attended the municipal school of arts and crafts and took drawing lessons from Natale Betti. Thanks to his recommenadtions, in 1885 he was able to enroll at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence and studied under Giovanni Fattori.Brief Biography
@ AskArt In the following years he had several exhibits; at the "Society for the Promotion of the Fine Arts" (1886), where he exhibited a portrait and a landscape called ''An Olive Grove'', and at the Academy (1887), where he exhibited ''The Meeting'' and ''The

Tombolo A tombolo is a sandy or shingle isthmus. It is a deposition landform by which an island becomes attached to the mainland by a narrow piece of land such as a spit or bar. Once attached, the island is then known as a tied island. The word ''t ...

''. Also at the Academy (1888), he exhibited a ''Portrait of Nina Van Zandt'' and ''The Haymaker''. That same year, at the Society, he displayed the following paintings: ''In the Sun'', ''The Strike''; ''The Journey is Finished''; ''Wild Flowers''; ''Mouth of the Calambrone'', and ''The Summer of San Martino''. He also took part in the Exposition Universelle of 1889. In 1890 he moved to

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

and lived there until 1902. During that time, he focused on

watercolor 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 ...

s. He also participated in exhibitions held by the Genoese "". In 1891, at the 1st Brera Triennale, he exhibited a piece inspired by the Genoese workers' strikes. In 1894, due to similar paintings and his apparent support for a Genoese labor group, he was arrested on charges of

anarchism Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

. After spending several months in prison, he was tried and acquitted, thanks to contributions from his fellow artists which provided for his legal defenses. Later in the 90s he became the focal point of a lively artistic set known as the Gruppo d’Albano. He was a regular exhibitor at the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...

until 1899. That same year, he married Griselda Ciucci. He moved to Torre del Lago in 1902; initially as the guest of his friend

Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Puccini (22 December 1858 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for List of compositions by Giacomo Puccini#Operas, his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he ...

. in 1907, he took up Symbolism and was involved in the creation of the "Dream Room" at the 7th Venice Biennale. He continued to participate in exhibitions elsewhere, including Genoa,

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 ...

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, Florence and

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, ...

. In 1909, he participated in the Paris Salon d'Automne. Five years later, he became a

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

at the lodge named after

Felice Orsini Felice Orsini (; ; 10 December 1819 – 13 March 1858) was an Italian revolutionary and leader of the '' Carbonari'' who tried to assassinate Napoleon III, Emperor of the French. Early life Felice Orsini was born at Meldola in Romagna, th ...

Viareggio Viareggio () is a city and ''comune'' in northern Tuscany, Italy, on the coast of the Ligurian Sea. With a population of over 62,000, it is the second largest city in the province of Lucca, after Lucca. It is known as a seaside resort as well a ...

. After

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, what had been a quiet rural area became more developed so, in 1919, he moved to Florence, where he focused on landscape painting, making numerous trips to

Capri Capri ( , ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. A popular resort destination since the time of the Roman Republic, its natural beauty ...

and

Elba Elba (, ; ) is a Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano National Park, a ...

. During the 20s, he became an early and enthusiastic supporter of the

Fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...

movement. This was expressed most Notably in a painting called ''Incipit Nova Aetas'', which celebrates the

Blackshirts The Voluntary Militia for National Security (, MVSN), commonly called the Blackshirts (, CCNN, singular: ) or (singular: ), was originally the paramilitary wing of the National Fascist Party, known as the Squadrismo, and after 1923 an all-vo ...

coming to Florence. During the 20s and early 30s, he continued to exhibit with great regularity, until his wife's death in 1936. He was President of the Gruppo Labronico from 1928 until his death.Grupo Labronico
List of Presidents.

Selected paintings

Plinio Nomellini sciopero Londinese 1889.jpg, London Strike Artgate Fondazione Cariplo - Nomellini Plinio, Ragazza alla finestra.jpg, Girl at the Window Le rose di Poggio Imperiale, 1927 2000 RMA 02369 0308 000(012130).jpg, The Roses of
Poggio Imperiale Nomellini-Incipit.jpg, Incipit Nova Aetas
(A New Age Begins) Harvest by Plinio Nomellini (1866-1943), 1910-1915, oil on canvas - Accademia Ligustica di Belle Arti - DSC02289.JPG, The Harvest Plinio nomellini, i corsari, 1906-10 (GAM genova), 01.jpg, The Corsairs

References

External links

Biography
@ the Paolo Antonacci Gallery {{DEFAULTSORT:Nomellini, Plinio 1866 births 1943 deaths Painters from Livorno 19th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 20th-century Italian painters Divisionist painters Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze alumni 19th-century Italian male artists 20th-century Italian male artists

Biography

Selected paintings

References

Further reading

External links