Alberto Pasini (3 September 1826 – 15 December 1899) was an Italian painter. He is best known for depicting
Orientalist subjects in a late-
Romantic style.
Biography
![Alberto Pasini - Damascus - Walters 37193](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/Alberto_Pasini_-_Damascus_-_Walters_37193.jpg)
He was born in
Busseto
Busseto ( Bussetano: ; Parmigiano: ) is a ''comune'' in the province of Parma, in Emilia-Romagna in Northern Italy with a population of about 7,100. Its history has very ancient roots which date back to the 10th century, and for almost five hundre ...
. His father was a commissioner for his district, a post analogous to a sub-prefect. After the death of his father in 1828, he and his mother moved to Parma, where Pasini enrolled, at the age of 17 years, in the Academy of Fine Art of
Parma
Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...
. He studied landscape painting and drawing. In Parma, he was helped early on by Alberto's uncle, the painter and manuscript illuminator,
Antonio Pasini, who painted for the local nobility and collaborated with the publishing house established by
Giovanni Battista Bodoni
Giambattista Bodoni (, ; 16 February 1740 – 30 November 1813) was an Italian typographer, type-designer, compositor, printer, and publisher in Parma.
He first took the type-designs of Pierre Simon Fournier as his exemplars, but afterwards bec ...
. By 1852, he exhibited a series of thirty designs, made into lithographs, depicting various castles around
Piacenza
Piacenza (; egl, label= Piacentino, Piaṡëinsa ; ) is a city and in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, and the capital of the eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with over ...
,
Lunigiana
The Lunigiana () is a historical territory of Italy, which today falls within the provinces of Massa Carrara, Tuscany, and La Spezia, Liguria. Its borders derive from the ancient Roman settlement, later the medieval diocese of Luni, which no long ...
and Parma. He was noticed by the artist
Paolo Toschi
Paolo Toschi (1788 – 30 July 1854) was an Italian draughtsman and engraver. He was born in Parma.
Biography
He trained in Paris under Charles Clément Balvay (Bervic), and first made a reputation by a fine etching of ''Henry IV'', after Gérard ...
, who encouraged Pasini to travel to
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, where Pasini first joined the workshop of
Pierre-Luc-Charles and
Eugène Cicéri
Étienne Eugène Cicéri (27 January 1813 – 20 April 1890) was a French painter, illustrator, engraver and theatrical designer.
Biography
He came from an artistic family. His father was the scenographer, Pierre-Luc-Charles Cicéri. He ...
, of the
Barbizon School
The Barbizon school of painters were part of an art movement towards Realism in art, which arose in the context of the dominant Romantic Movement of the time. The Barbizon school was active roughly from 1830 through 1870. It takes its name f ...
.
In 1853 his lithograph of ''The Evening'' gained him admittance to the
Paris Salon
The Salon (french: Salon), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art ...
, and to the workshop of the famous
Théodore Chassériau
Théodore Chassériau (September 20, 1819 – October 8, 1856) was a Captaincy General of Santo Domingo, Dominican-born French Romanticism, Romantic Painting, painter noted for his portraits, historical and religious paintings, allegorical murals, ...
. The eruption of the
Crimean War
The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia.
Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...
offered a new opportunity, when in February 1855, this latter painter recommended Pasini to replace him on the entourage of the French plenipotentiary minister to
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. Pasini accompanied him, returning through the north of Persia and Armenia before reaching the port of
Trebizond. In subsequent trips, he visited Egypt, the Red Sea, Arabia,
Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
, and Persia. Pasini parlayed his exposures during this trip into numerous highly detailed paintings of orientalist subjects. He left again for Istanbul in October 1867, summoned by the French Ambassador Bourée. He returned to Turkey in 1876 to execute the four paintings commissioned by
Sultan Abdul Aziz. He was about to return to Istanbul the next year, when his patron, the Sultan, died.
In 1865, he spent some time in
Cannes
Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...
, painted landscapes of the Riviera. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, he returned to Italy, settling in
Cavoretto, on the hills around Turin. He continued to travel, closer to his home, with trips to Venice and two sojourns in Spain in 1879 and 1883. He died in Cavoretto on 15 December 1899.
Works
In 1862 at Istanbul, he painted a canvas depicting a ''Victory by the Turks led by Sultan
Abdul Mezid''. He exhibited at Paris: ''The Druze attack a Maronite Village'', ''Falcon hunt in plains of Ispahan'', ''The Bazaar of Istambul'', and ''The stage of the caravan'', found in the Museum of Parma. In Venice, and began painting
vedute
A ''veduta'' (Italian for "view"; plural ''vedute'') is a highly detailed, usually large-scale painting or, more often, print of a cityscape or some other vista. The painters of ''vedute'' are referred to as ''vedutisti''.
Origins
This genre ...
of the city, among other subjects including works depicting the ''Ponte dei Santi Apostoli'', ''the ferry Cassou and the Rio Marin'', ''Canal Grande''; ''Traghetto San Toma'' ; ''Venice from the
Giudecca
Giudecca (; vec, Zueca) is an island in the Venetian Lagoon, in northern Italy. It is part of the ''sestiere'' of Dorsoduro and is a locality of the ''comune'' of Venice.
Geography
Giudecca lies immediately south of the central islands of Ven ...
'' ; ''
Palazzo Grimani''; ''Rio San Severo'', ''Rio a
Santa Maria Formosa
Santa Maria Formosa, formally The Church of the Purification of Mary, is a church in Venice, northern Italy. It was erected in 1492 under the design by Renaissance architect Mauro Codussi. It lies on the site of a previous church dating from the ...
'' ; and ''
Palazzi Rezzonico, Foscari e Balbi''. He also painted ''Porta di un bazar''; ''Panorama of the
Sierra Nevada
The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...
''; ''Porta del vino'', ''
Alhambra
The Alhambra (, ; ar, الْحَمْرَاء, Al-Ḥamrāʾ, , ) is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Andalusia, Spain. It is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of the ...
Porta of the sala delle due sorelle''; ''Interno dello moschea dell'Alhambra''; ''Porta d'una moschea'', and ''Palazzo del
Generalife
The Generalife (; ar, جَنَّة الْعَرِيف, translit=Jannat al-‘Arīf) was a summer palace and country estate of the Nasrid rulers of the Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus. It is located directly east of and uphill from the Alham ...
''; ''Porta di un vecchio arsenale''; ''Mercato del lunedì nella piazza of the Moschea a Costantinopoli''; ''Cavalli al pascolo in Siria''; ''Cortile di un vecchio joly'';'' La sentinella''; ''Le staffette'' (Group of irregular cavalry at the door of a mosque in Asia Minor); ''Courtyard of the Lions in Granada''; ''Gruppo di case nel Rubatto Yesel Giani''; ''Un'arcata of the facciata di San Marco''; ''Porta del Palazzo Moriani''; and ''La
Salute
A salute is usually a formal hand gesture or other action used to display respect in military situations. Salutes are primarily associated with the military and law enforcement, but many civilian organizations, such as Girl Guides, Boy Sco ...
''. The self-portrait he sent to the Uffizi in Florence is from 1888.
Gubernatis quotes the contemporary art critic, Virgilio Colombo, as saying of his paintings:
[Gubernatis, ''Dizionario''.] ''Pasini faithfully reproduces the architectural accessories, which sparkle in the sun and bathe in the blue shadows: in this, he is unrivaled and shows extraordinary ingenuity to create huge paintings in small canvases. What skill in painting finger-high figures, fine horses, grim and thoughtful knights, with sumptuous trappings, damask-decorated weapons, kiosks, markets and menageries, saddles encrusted with gems, the turbans, the fabrics, the courtesans of princesses, the military camps, the intimate recesses of the harem, the profiles of city with jagged spires and minarets, and the hunts through the interminable space of the plains. The oriental scenes are exquisitely treated, not by way of searching for the usual sunsets and fiery skies. The atmosphere is fine and transparent and stretches across a silvery coat...all grace and subtlety
Gallery of Orientalist paintings
Alberto Pasini - Horse market, Syria - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Horse market, Syria''
Alberto Pasini - Market Day in Constantinople - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Market Day in Constantinople''
Alberto Pasini Am Goldenen Horn.jpg, ''Golden Horn, Istambul''
Alberto Pasini Karawane in der Wüste, signiert 1867.jpg, ''Caravan in the Desert''
Alberto Pasini Une Mosqué 1886.JPG, ''Mosque''
Alberto Pasini (attr.) - Oriental landscape with Mosque.jpg, ''Oriental landscape with Mosque''
Pasini Alberto Sulle Rive Del Bosforo.jpg, ''Shores of Bosporus
The Bosporus Strait (; grc, Βόσπορος ; tr, İstanbul Boğazı 'Istanbul strait', colloquially ''Boğaz'') or Bosphorus Strait is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul in northwestern T ...
''
Pasini Alberto An Arab Caravan.jpg, ''Arab Caravan''
Pasini Alberto Cairo.jpg, ''Cairo''
Alberto Pasino Ein arabisches Feldlager.jpg, ''Arab Field Camp'' (1866)
Merket in Istanbul.jpg, ''Market in Istanbul'' (1868)
Pasini 2.jpg, ''Arab Cavalry''
Pasini Alberto A Market Scene.jpg, ''Market scene''
Pasini Alberto Almea Color Arancio.jpg, ''Almea wearing Orange''
Pasini Alberto 1.jpg, ''At the Trough''
Spirited Conflict (1859) by Albert Pasini.jpg, ''Spirited Conflict'' (1859)
See also
*
List of Orientalist artists
This is an incomplete list of artists who have produced works on Orientalist subjects, drawn from the Islamic world or other parts of Asia. Many artists listed on this page worked in many genres, and Orientalist subjects may not have formed a m ...
*
Orientalism
In art history, literature and cultural studies, Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects in the Eastern world. These depictions are usually done by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world. In particular, Orientalist p ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pasini, Alberto
19th-century Italian painters
Italian male painters
1826 births
1899 deaths
People from Busseto
Painters from Parma
Orientalist painters
19th-century Italian male artists