Giovanni Battista Biscarra or Jean-Baptiste Biscarra (February 22, 1790 – April 13, 1851) was an Italian painter, sculptor and lithographer. He principally painted
historical
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
and religious subjects and royal portraits.
[Paolo Venturoli, ''Giovanni Battista Biscarra'']
at Treccani Dizionario Biografico
Life
Born in Nizza (then in Savoy, part of the
Kingdom of Sardinia
The Kingdom of Sardinia,The name of the state was originally Latin: , or when the kingdom was still considered to include Corsica. In Italian it is , in French , in Sardinian , and in Piedmontese . also referred to as the Kingdom of Savoy-S ...
, now Nice in France), Biscarra was the son of Caterina Coppon and Giuseppe Costantino Biscarra. His father was auditor and general treasurer of the Royal Army of the Kingdom of Sardinia and the
House of Savoy
The House of Savoy ( it, Casa Savoia) was a royal dynasty that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, the family grew in power from ruling a small Alpine county north-west of Italy to absolute rule of ...
.
His cousin was the romantic poet
Agathe-Sophie Sasserno.
Biscarra learned the rudiments of art from
Pietro Benvenuti
Pietro Benvenuti (8 January 1769 – 3 February 1844) was an Italian neoclassical painter.
Biography
Born in Arezzo in Tuscany, he was influenced by the style of Jacques-Louis David. He was a student of the Academy of Fine Arts of Florence, th ...
at the Accademia di Firenze in
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 ...
, where his family had taken refuge during the French occupation of Savoy and the
Piedmont
it, Piemontese
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. After many years of study at the
Academy of Fine Arts of Florence, he graduated with the painting ''The Prodigal Son Weeps For His Errors'' (, private collection). In 1815, Biscarra moved to Rome with a stipend from King
Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia
Victor Emmanuel I (Vittorio Emanuele; 24 July 1759 – 10 January 1824) was the Duke of Savoy and King of Sardinia (1802–1821).
Biography
Victor Emmanuel was the second son of King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia and Maria Antonia Ferdinanda o ...
. There, he studied at the
Accademia di San Luca
The Accademia di San Luca (the "Academy of Saint Luke") is an Italian academy of artists in Rome. The establishment of the Accademia de i Pittori e Scultori di Roma was approved by papal brief in 1577, and in 1593 Federico Zuccari became its fir ...
where he refined his skills as a student of
Vincenzo Camuccini
Vincenzo Camuccini (22 February 1771 – 2 September 1844) was an Italian painter of Neoclassic histories and religious paintings. He was considered the premier academic painter of his time in Rome.
Biography
Camuccini was born in Rome, and fir ...
and became friends with the leading artists of Roman neoclassicism, including
Antonio Canova
Antonio Canova (; 1 November 1757 – 13 October 1822) was an Italian Neoclassical sculptor, famous for his marble sculptures. Often regarded as the greatest of the Neoclassical artists,. his sculpture was inspired by the Baroque and the cl ...
,
Bertel Thorvaldsen
Bertel Thorvaldsen (; 19 November 1770 – 24 March 1844) was a Danes, Danish and Icelanders, Icelandic Sculpture, sculptor medallist, medalist of international fame, who spent most of his life (1797–1838) in Italy. Thorvaldsen was born in ...
, Pietro Tenerani, and several others. He gained great notoriety in Rome with ''The Remorse of Cain'' (1819, antechamber of the Superintendence, in the
Palazzo Carignano
Palazzo Carignano is a historical building in the centre of Turin, Italy, which houses the Museum of the Risorgimento. It was a private residence of the Princes of Carignano, after whom it is named. Its rounded façade is different from other f ...
).
After six years in Rome, Biscarra was summoned to Turin by the new King
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 of ...
. By sovereign decree of 17 September 1821 he was named the "first painter of His Majesty, Head and Master of the Schools of Painting and Drawing, and Director of the Academy of the Nude". In 1822, he began teaching there, proving himself to be an excellent instructor. He continued teaching after the establishment of the
Royal Academy of Fine Arts in 1824 and after the Albertine reform of the academy in 1833. In 1842, he participated in the founding of the 'Società Promotrice delle Belle Arti' ('Society for the Promotion of Fine Arts'). He served the successive Kings of Sardinia until his death, including, ultimately, King Vittorio Emmanuele II, who later became the first king of unified Italy.
[ Biscarra died in Turin on 13 April 1851.][
His son ]Carlo Felice Biscarra
Carlo Felice Biscarra (March 26, 1823 – July 31, 1894) was an Italian painter and art critic.
Born in Turin, Carlo Felice initially trained with his father, Giovanni Battista, who was director of the Accademia Albertina. Carlo Felice receive ...
(born in 1821) was a prominent painter in Turin, and also taught at the academy there. His grandson Cesare Biscarra (born in 1866) was both a talented sculptor and painter.[Rue Biscarra]
at Nice Rendez-Vous
Works
Biscarra is best known for his compositions depicting episodes from the history of the Kingdom of Sardinia and the House of Savoy
The House of Savoy ( it, Casa Savoia) was a royal dynasty that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, the family grew in power from ruling a small Alpine county north-west of Italy to absolute rule of ...
. He is also known for his altarpieces for the churches of Turin, Alba
''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scottish people, Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed i ...
, Nizza Monferrato
Nizza Monferrato (''Nissa dla Paja'' in Piedmontese) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Asti in the Italian region of Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about southeast of Asti.
Nizza Monferrato borders the following ...
, Fossano
Fossano ( pms, Fossan) is a town and ''comune'' of Piedmont, northern Italy. It is the fourth largest town of the Province of Cuneo, after Cuneo, Alba and Bra.
It lies on the main railway line from Turin to Cuneo and to Savona, and has a branch li ...
, Mondovì
Mondovì (; pms, Ël Mondvì , la, Mons Regalis) is a town and ''comune'' (township) in Piedmont, northern Italy, about from Turin. The area around it is known as the Monregalese.
The town, located on the Monte Regale hill, is divided into ...
and several other towns in the Piedmont. ''Pittura e scultura in Piemonte 1842-1891: Catalogo cronografico illustrato della Esposizione Retrospettiva 1892.''
A. Stella, Stamperia Reale della ditta G.B. Paravia e Compagnia. Turin, 1893, page 21-25. Biscarra is further recognized as an excellent portrait painter, and many of his portraits are of the members of the royal households of Sardinia and Savoy. Biscarra is known to have painted two self-portraits. One is on display in the Galleria D'Arte Moderna in Milan (image above). The other is in the collection of the Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence.[
His earliest works hearkened back to the Baroque period, but then he quickly progressed after moving to Rome toward a neoclassical style akin to that of ]Jacques-Louis David
Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in ...
. Later in life, he developed a more purist taste, especially in his religious compositions. In his most mature phase he showed a romantic tendency, as exemplified in his narrations of events from national history. In his latest works, especially in his late portraits and ''The Nude Class of the Academy of Fine Arts'' (1840, Albertina, Turin, Civic Museum, the Modern Art Gallery), he showed a movement towards realism.
He excelled in large-scale compositions. The Royal Palace of Turin and various churches of that city have works of Biscarra including ''The promulgation of the Albertine Civil Code''. He also painted the stage curtain of the former Municipal Theatre (Opera), which was destroyed by fire in 1881.[
]
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Biscarra, Giovanni Battista
1790 births
1851 deaths
People from Nizza Monferrato
Italian neoclassical painters
Italian male painters
19th-century Italian painters
Painters from Piedmont
Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze alumni
Academic staff of Accademia Albertina
19th-century Italian male artists