Cesare Bartolena (May 27, 1830 – May 14, 1903) was an Italian painter, mainly of military or battle scenes.

Biography

He was born in Livorno. He was a pupil of

Enrico Pollastrini Enrico Pollastrini (15 June 1817, Livorno – 19 January 1876, Florence) was an Italian history painter and art school director. Life and work He began his training as an assistant in the workshop of a local artist named Vincenzo De Bonis. In 1 ...

, and attended the

Academy of Fine Arts, Florence 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. ...

. In 1848, he volunteered in battles for Italian independence. He was among the artists who frequented the

Caffè Michelangiolo Caffè Michelangiolo was a historic café in Florence, located in Via Larga (now renamed Via Cavour). During the nineteenth century Wars of Italian Independence, it became a major meeting place for Tuscan writers and artists, and for patriots and ...

in Florence. There he met his contemporary battle painter

Giovanni Fattori Giovanni Fattori (September 6, 1825August 30, 1908) was an Italian artist, one of the leaders of the group known as the Macchiaioli. He was initially a painter of historical themes and military subjects. In his middle years, inspired by the Barbi ...

. Bartolena also painted some religious pieces. Along with the French photographer Alphonse Bernoud, Cesare opened a photography studio, but it failed, placing the now elderly painter in precarious financial straits. He resumed painting, mainly small paintings.Museo Giovanni Fattori
short biography. His grandson Giovanni Bartolena was also a painter in Livorno. Among Cesare's works are: *''La partenza dei volontari livornesi per la guerra di Sicilia'' (Exhibited in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

in 1872, now in Museo Civico Giovanni Fattori, Livorno) *''Campo militare e Avanguardia'' (Exhibited at Società d'Incoraggiamento a Florence, 1884) *''La morte del generale Cosimo Del Fante'' (Exposizione di Belle Arti di Milan a Florence, 1886) *''Agricoltura e Milizia'' (Esposizione Nazionale Artistica di Venezia) *''Soldati in marcia dalla manovra'' (Esposizione Nazionale Artistica di Venezia) *''Al campo'' *''Soldati in marcia dalla manovra'' *''La chiamata'' *''La partenza del coscritto'' *''La madre del soldato'' (1875) *''

Bersaglieri The Bersaglieri, singular Bersagliere, (, "sharpshooter") are a troop of marksmen in the Italian Army's infantry corps. They were originally created by General Alessandro La Marmora on 18 June 1836 to serve in the Royal Sardinian Army, whi ...

nel Bosco'' (1878) *''Agricoltura e Milizia'' *''Sentinella'' *''La cattiva notizia''

References

1830 births 1903 deaths 19th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 20th-century Italian painters Painters from Livorno Italian battle painters 19th-century war artists 19th-century Italian male artists 20th-century Italian male artists {{Italy-painter-19thC-stub