Antonino or Antonio Leto (June 14, 1844 – May 31, 1913 in Capri, Italy) was an Italian painter, painting mainly genre/landscape subjects in an impressionistic style.

Biography

In 1861, sponsored by his uncle, he moved to study in Palermo under L. Barba and Luigi Lojacono. He adopted the style and subject matter of Filippo Palizzi, In 1864, he moved to

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

where he was attracted to the '' Scuola of Resina'' style of painting fostered by

Giuseppe De Nittis Giuseppe De Nittis (February 25, 1846 – August 21, 1884)Efrem Gisella Calingaert. "De Nittis, Giuseppe." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 9 Aug. 2013. was one of the most important Italian painters of the 19th c ...

. He took lessons from Adriano Cecioni. He painted both in oil, tempera, and watercolor. By 1870, he had won a silver medal at the Mosta Artistica of Palermo with the painting ''Il Ritorno dal Pascolo'' and a gold medal at the Regional Exposition of Siracusa for ''La Bufera''. In 1872, he sent ''A Winter's day in Sicily'' to the Brera Exposition. In 1873, he joined in Portici with other painter of the Scuola di Resina, and travelled to Rome and met Francesco Paolo Michetti. In 1874 at Rome, he painted ''Alla Villa Borgese'' and ''Un contadino Romano'', exhibited at the 10th Promotrice in Naples. In 1874–75, he won a Sicilian stipend to study in Rome with his work ''La Raccolta delle Olive'' In 1876–1878, he traveled to Florence under a stipend. There he painted livelier cityscapes including ''Case a Viareggio'', ''Ponte di Santi Trinita'', and ''Passeggiata alle Cascine''. After selling many of his works through the Galleria Pisani, in 1879 he moved to Paris invited by A. Goupil of the Goupil Gallery. In 1880, he painted ''Vecchia Parigi'' and ''Le Bois de Boulogne''. In Paris, his contemporary painters were

Domenico Morelli Domenico Morelli (4 August 182313 August 1901) was an Italian painter, who mainly produced historical and religious works. Morelli was immensely influential in the arts of the second half of the 19th century, both as director of the Accademia di ...

, A. Mancini, Vincenzo Gemito, A. de Neuville,

Édouard Manet Édouard Manet (, ; ; 23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883) was a French modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism. Born ...

, and JL Meissonier. By 1880, he returned to Palermo, where he decorated the room of the Villa ai Colli (now Opera Pia Istituto Pignatelli) with lively vedute and genre scenes. After the 1880s, his health did not allow him to travel much, but he was prolific in sending paintings to exhibitions. He moved to Capri in 1882. His ''I funari di

Torre del Greco Torre del Greco (; nap, Torre d' 'o Grieco; "Greek man's Tower") is a ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Naples in Italy, with a population of c. 85,000 . The locals are sometimes called ''Corallini'' because of the once plentiful cora ...

'' (1883) was celebrated at the National Exposition of Fine Arts of Rome, and now hangs in the Chamber of Deputies. Over the next decade many of this subjects focused on seascapes or seashore activities. Together with

Francesco Lojacono Francesco Lojacono or Lo Jacono (1838–1915) was an Italian painter, mainly of landscapes and seascapes, and mainly active in his native Palermo, Sicily. Biography He received his early training there with his father Luigi, a history and portrai ...

and

Michele Catti Michele Catti (5 April 1855 – 4 July 1914) was an Italian artist, considered one of the most important Sicilian landscape painters of the Belle Époque. Biography Catti was born in Palermo to Andrea Catti and Carmela Riotta. He was the sec ...

, he forms the so-called canonical triad of the Sicilian landscape artists of the

Belle Époque The Belle Époque or La Belle Époque (; French for "Beautiful Epoch") is a period of French and European history, usually considered to begin around 1871–1880 and to end with the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Occurring during the era ...

Gallery

Antonino Leto - I figli del mare, Capri.jpg, ''I figli del Mare'' Antonino Leto - Il gioco a Villa Tasca.jpg, ''Il Gioco a Villa Tasca'' Antonino Leto - Napoli.jpg, ''Vedute di Napoli'' Antonino Leto - A mid-day incident (1876).jpg, ''A Mid-day Incident'' (1876) Antonino Leto - Arab sheep herders.jpg, ''Arab sheep herders'' Antonino Leto - Barca Di Pescatori Sullo Sfondo Di Castel Dell'ovo.jpg, ''Barca di Pescatori sullo sfondo di Castel Dell'Ovo''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leto, Antonio 1834 births 1913 deaths People from Monreale 19th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 20th-century Italian painters 20th-century Italian male artists Painters from Sicily Italian landscape painters Italian genre painters 19th-century Italian male artists Artists from the Province of Palermo