Antonio Berti

Antonio Berti (Faenza, September 20, 1830 - Faenza, July 14, 1912) was an Italian painter, mainly portraits, landscapes, and romantic scenes.

As a boy and a young man, he studied in the local school of design and painting with the engraver Giuseppe Marri (1788-1852), architect Pietro Tomba (1774-1846), and painter Achille Farina.[1] With the help of local patrons, in 1852 he traveled to Florence for five years to study at the Academy of Fine Arts under Ciseri, Pollastrini, and Ussi. He was a minor collaborator in the completion of the Ussi's large canvas of The Expulsion of the Duke of Athens. [2]

He returned to Faenza, and in 1864 became a teacher at the Scuola Comunale di Disegno ,[3] which became School of Arts and Crafts. In 1906, he was named director.

From those years are some canvases inspired by Orientalist subjects, and inspired by Ussi. He also was influence by Giovanni Fattori, his friend Odoardo Borrani, and L. Bechi. Among his masterworks are: La Famiglia Castellani (1867–69; Pinacoteca di Faenza) and the Lady with Umbrella. He also painted ceramics.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Pinacoteca Faenza, introduction to exhibit of Arte faentina nella Firenze dell'Unità d'Italia. La presenza di Achille Farina e Michele Chiarini alla esposizione nazionale del 1861, held from February 18 to May 1, 2011.
  2. ↑ Treccani Enciclopedia, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, Volume 9 (1967) by Luigi Zauli-Naldi.
  3. ↑ Pinacoteca di Faenza, biography of Antonio Berti, in introduction to exhibit Da Berti a Rambelli. Arte a Faenza nei primi dieci anni del '900. held April 25 to November 16, 2008.
  4. ↑ Treccani encyclopedia entry.