Ermocrate Bucchi (1842 – 1885) was an Italian painter, mainly of

still lifes A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or man-made (drinking glasses, boo ...

with flowers.

Biography

He was born in

Urbino Urbino ( ; ; Romagnol: ''Urbìn'') is a walled city in the Marche region of Italy, south-west of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of ...

and died 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 ...

. As a youth, he worked as a grocer, and even began a career to become a priest. He then took studies at the

Brera Academy The Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera ("academy of fine arts of Brera"), also known as the or Brera Academy, is a state-run tertiary public academy of fine arts in Milan, Italy. It shares its history, and its main building, with the Pinacoteca di ...

, but to make a living, he worked on engraving on ivory. He became a pupil of the watercolor artist

Luigi Scrosati Luigi Scrosati (1814 in Milan – 1869 in Milan) was an Italian painter. He was not trained in any of the academies, nor did he apprentice with a master painter. He however gained respect as a watercolor painter, and was supported by his frien ...

, who trained him in a painting of flowers. This sufficed to give his a successful career. The critic Virgilio Colombo in presenting the best artists who exhibited at the 1881 Art Show of Milan, said of Bucchi's paintings, that he sent his best watercolors of flowers to Holland; where the prominent art dealer Adolphe Goupil, of the

Goupil Gallery Goupil & Cie is an international auction house and merchant of contemporary art and collectibles. Jean-Baptiste Adophe Goupil founded Goupil & Cie in 1850. Goupil & Cie became a leading art dealership in 19th-century France, with its headquart ...

, grouped them with Dutch flower painters, bringing much success to Bucchi. At this Exhibition, Bucchi displayed the two paintings: ''The seller of flowers'' and ''still life''.''Dizionario degli Artisti Italiani Viventi: pittori, scultori, e Architetti.''
by Angelo de Gubernatis. Tipe dei Successori Le Monnier, 1889, page 78.

References

1842 births 1885 deaths Painters from Urbino 19th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Painters from Milan Italian still life painters Brera Academy alumni 19th-century Italian male artists {{Italy-painter-19thC-stub