Giacomo Berger or Jacques Berger (Chambéry, France, 1754 – Naples, 1822) was a French-

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

painter, active in a Neoclassical style, depicting historical subjects and portraits.

Biography

During 1779 to 1782, he was a pupil of Laurent Pécheux at the Albertina Academy in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...

. In 1784, he travels to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

to study with Domenico Corvi, where he frequents the French Academy in Rome then directed by

Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée (called ''Lagrenée l'aîné'', Lagrenée the elder) (30 December 1724 – 19 June 1805) was a French rococo painter and student of Carle van Loo. He won the ''Grand Prix de Rome'' for painting in 1749 and wa ...

. During the French occupation of the Kingdom of Savoy, he returned to Turin, and participated in a local commission which appropriated artworks from the Royal Palace in Turin to send to France. By 1800, he was recruited to work as professor of history painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples, under the leadership of Jean Baptiste Wicar. From 1806 to 1809, he became director of the Academy in

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 ...

. He worked under the court of

Joachim Murat Joachim Murat ( , also , ; it, Gioacchino Murati; 25 March 1767 – 13 October 1815) was a French military commander and statesman who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars. Under the French Empire he received the ...

in the

Palace of Caserta The Royal Palace of Caserta ( it, Reggia di Caserta ) is a former royal residence in Caserta, southern Italy, constructed by the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies as their main residence as kings of Naples. It is the largest palace erected in Euro ...

and the PPalazzo della Prefettura in Naples ('' Sancha of Majorca renounces nunnery for the crown of Naples''). Among his works, he made pastel portraits of his master Pécheux and his family. In Rome, he exhibited ''Dying Procris'', ''Chaste Susanna'', ''Wife of Potiphar'', ''Orpheus crying for Eurydice'', and ''Death of Epaminondas'' (1786). Other works include ''All’isola di Seriffo'' (1805) and ''Danae and Persus in the chest'' (1808) He decorated one of the ceilings of the royal palace at

Caserta Caserta () is the capital of the province of Caserta in the Campania region of Italy. It is an important agricultural, commercial, and industrial '' comune'' and city. Caserta is located on the edge of the Campanian plain at the foot of the Ca ...

with a fresco of ''Epaminondas''. He painted a canvas of ''Justice''. From Naples, he was commissioned to make two large portraits of

Charles Felix of Sardinia Charles Felix (; 6 April 1765 – 27 April 1831) was the Duke of Savoy, Piedmont, Aosta and King of Sardinia from 1821 to 1831. Early life Charles Felix was born in Turin as the eleventh child and fifth son born to Victor Amadeus III o ...

and his wife

Maria Cristina of Naples and Sicily Maria Cristina of Naples and Sicily (Maria Cristina Amelia Teresa; 17 January 1779 – 11 March 1849) was a Princess of Naples and SicilyLater known as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and later Queen of Sardinia as wife of King Charles Fel ...

, now found at the Castle of Agliè.Castello di Aglie
website.

References

1754 births 1822 deaths 18th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 19th-century Italian painters 18th-century French painters Painters from Naples Italian neoclassical painters Accademia Albertina alumni Accademia di Belle Arti di Napoli faculty 19th-century French painters 19th-century Italian male artists 18th-century Italian male artists {{Italy-painter-18thC-stub