Pietro Benvenuti (8 January 1769 – 3 February 1844) was an Italian neoclassical painter.

Biography

Born in

Arezzo Arezzo ( , , ) , also ; ett, 𐌀𐌓𐌉𐌕𐌉𐌌, Aritim. is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of above sea level. ...

in Tuscany, he was influenced by the style 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 ...

. He was a student of the

Academy of Fine Arts The following is a list of notable art schools. Accredited non-profit art and design colleges * Adelaide Central School of Art * Alberta College of Art and Design * Art Academy of Cincinnati * Art Center College of Design * The Art Institute o ...

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 ...

, then studied in Rome, 1792–1803, where he formed an informal academy with his friend of long standing, Vincenzo Cammuccini, and Luigi Sabatelli. He returned to practice in Arezzo. With a group of collaborators and students Benvenuti was commissioned in 1811–12 to decorate the new rooms in

Palazzo Pitti The Palazzo Pitti (), in English sometimes called the Pitti Palace, is a vast, mainly Renaissance, palace in Florence, Italy. It is situated on the south side of the River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio. The core of the present ...

, where he painted a series of mythologic scenes for the ''Salon of Hercules'' on the Greek demigod. Another prestigious commission, from the restored Grand Duke of Tuscany, Leopold II, was to fresco the dome of the Capella Medicea at the

San Lorenzo San Lorenzo is the Italian and Spanish name for Lawrence of Rome, Saint Lawrence, the 3rd-century Christian martyr, and may refer to: Places Argentina * San Lorenzo, Santa Fe * San Lorenzo Department, Chaco * Monte San Lorenzo, a mountain on t ...

, depicting eight grand subjects, taken from the Old and the New Testament, the four Prophets and the four Evangelists. Under his guidance, Carlo Lasinio engraved the

Luca Giordano Luca Giordano (18 October 1634 – 3 January 1705) was an Italian late-Baroque painter and printmaker in etching. Fluent and decorative, he worked successfully in Naples and Rome, Florence, and Venice, before spending a decade in Spain. Ear ...

frescoes in

Palazzo Medici-Riccardi The Palazzo Medici, also called the Palazzo Medici Riccardi after the later family that acquired and expanded it, is a Renaissance palace located in Florence, Italy. It is the seat of the Metropolitan City of Florence and a museum. Overview T ...

. He was an associate of the Accademia di Brera, Milan. In 1829, he was elected into the

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the fin ...

as an Honorary member. In 1807 he was recruited to become

court painter A court painter was an artist who painted for the members of a royal or princely family, sometimes on a fixed salary and on an exclusive basis where the artist was not supposed to undertake other work. Painters were the most common, but the cour ...

Elisa Bonaparte Baciocchi Maria Anna Elisa Bonaparte Baciocchi Levoy ( French: ''Marie Anne Elisa Bonaparte''; 3 January 1777 – 7 August 1820), better known as Elisa Bonaparte, was an imperial French princess and sister of Napoleon Bonaparte. She was Princess of Lucca ...

and to direct the Florentine Academy of Fine Arts. He died at

, while holding the post of Director. In that position, he had many pupils and students, including

Giuseppe Bezzuoli Giuseppe Bezzuoli (28 November 1784 – 13 September 1855) was an Italian painter of the Neoclassicism, Neoclassic period, active in Milan, Rome, and his native city of Florence. Biography He studied as a young man under Jean-Baptiste Desmarais a ...

, Gaspero Martellini,

Tomasso Gazzarini Tomasso is a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name: * Tomasso Amici, Italian sculptor active in Cremona in the late 15th century * Tomasso Gagliano (1884–1951), American mobster and boss of the Lucchese crime ...

Niccola Cianfanelli Niccola Cianfanelli (Moscow, July 19, 1793 – Florence, August 30, 1848) was an Italian painter and restorer. He mainly painted historic and sacred subjects in a Neoclassical style. Biography He studied under Pietro Benvenuti at the Academy ...

Luigi Mussini Luigi Mussini (19 December 1813 – 18 June 1888) was an Italian painter, linked especially to the Purismo movement and to the Nazarene movement, Nazarenes. Life Mussini was born in Berlin, son of the composer Natale Mussini, ''Kapellmeister ...

, and

Giorgio Berti Giorgio Berti (1794–1863) was an Italian painter, active in Neoclassic style. Biography He was born in Florence, and there a pupil at the Academy of Fine Arts under Benvenuti. Among his works were a painting of ''Herminia reveals her Beauty ...

. He should not be confused with the 16th-century architect

Pietro Benvenuto degli Ordini Pietro Benvenuto degli Ordini of Ferrara (working second half of the 15th century) was the court architect of Borso d'Este, Duke of Ferrara. In the Castello Estense, Ferrara, he was responsible for the courtyard and the splendid external staircase ...

Gallery

File:Pietro Benvenuti - La morte di Priamo.jpg, ''The Death of

Priam In Greek mythology, Priam (; grc-gre, Πρίαμος, ) was the legendary and last king of Troy during the Trojan War. He was the son of Laomedon. His many children included notable characters such as Hector, Paris, and Cassandra. Etymology Mo ...

'', 1811 File:Maria Teresa di Toscana.jpg, '' Maria Teresa of Austria and Tuscany'', 1817 File:Leopold II of Tuscany.jpg, ''

Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany Leopold II( it, Leopoldo Giovanni Giuseppe Francesco Ferdinando Carlo, german: Leopold Johann Joseph Franz Ferdinand Karl, English: ''Leopold John Joseph Francis Ferdinand Charles''. (3 October 1797 – 29 January 1870) was Grand Duke of Tusc ...

'', 1828 File:Samaritana di Pietro Benvenuti.jpg, ''Christ and the Samaritan'', ca. 1807

References

External links

''Athena, Hercules and Cupid''
by Pietro Benvenuti, in Palazzo Pitti, Florence
Toscana Europa: Pietro Benvenuti
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Benvenuti, Pietro 1769 births 1844 deaths 18th-century Italian people 19th-century Italian people 18th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 19th-century Italian painters Painters from Tuscany People from Arezzo Court painters Italian neoclassical painters Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze alumni Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze faculty 19th-century Italian male artists 18th-century Italian male artists