Arturo Ricci (

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

, 19 April 1854−1919) was an Italian painter, known for his figurative subjects, genre scenes, and art of family life. Historical genre, most particularly eighteenth century subjects, perceived as a golden age of elegance, sophistication, and taste, prior to the harsh realities of the Industrial Revolution. The wealthy class created by the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

collected his genre of art, specifically the representation of the

pre-Industrial era Pre-industrial society refers to social attributes and forums of political and cultural organization that were prevalent before the advent of the Industrial Revolution, which occurred from 1750 to 1850. ''Pre-industrial'' refers to a time before ...

. Ricci specialized in anecdotal scenes of elegant family life, a world of rustling silks and shimmering satins, displaying the virtuosity of his highly finished detail, composition and sense of colour. Working in Florence, Ricci's paintings appealed not only to Italians but to those on ‘The Grand Tour’, particularly collectors in Britain and the United States,

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...

, of steel fame and wealth, owned Ricci's “The Village Wedding”.

Biography

Arturo Ricci was born on 19 April 1854 in Florence,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. Aged 15 he entered the

Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze The Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze ("academy of fine arts of Florence") is an instructional art academy in Florence, in Tuscany, in central Italy. It was founded by Cosimo I de' Medici in 1563, under the influence of Giorgio Vasari. ...

where he studied under

Tito Conti Tito Conti (1842–1924) was an Italian painter, mainly of genre costume or historical subjects. Biography He was born and lived in Florence, where he studied at the Institute of Fine Arts. He was resident professor at the Academic College of ...

(1842-1924). Painting figurative subjects, genre scenes and scenes from family life, Ricci soon established himself as one of the foremost artists in Europe in the field of historical costume genre, alongside Vittorio Reggianini (1858-1939) and Frédéric Soulacroix (1858-1933). Among his works: ''Veduta di Viareggio''; ''Il Ciabattino''; ''Il pranzo di nozze''; ''Il fanatico per la musica''; ''La visita alla figlia''; ''L'ultima lettera amorosa''; ''Risposta all'ultima lettera amorosa''; ''Ritorno dalla guerra''; ''Il pranzo di nozze''; and ''Il Ritorno degli sposi dalla Chiesa''.

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1854 births 1919 deaths Italian costume genre painters 19th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 20th-century Italian painters Painters from Florence 19th-century Italian male artists 20th-century Italian male artists {{Italy-painter-19thC-stub