Federico Zandomeneghi (; June 2, 1841 – December 31, 1917) was an Italian Impressionist painter.

Biography

Federico Zandomeneghi was born in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

. His father Pietro and grandfather

Luigi is a fictional character featured in video games and related media released by Nintendo. Created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, Luigi is portrayed as the younger fraternal twin brother and sidekick of Mario, Nintendo's masc ...

were neoclassic sculptors. The latter completed the monument to

Titian Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian (Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, nea ...

found in the

Frari The Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, usually just called the Frari, is a church located in the Campo dei Frari at the heart of the San Polo district of Venice, Italy. The largest church in the city, it has the status of a minor basi ...

of Venice. As a young man, he preferred painting to sculpture, enrolling in 1856 first in the

Accademia di Belle Arti This is a list of the tertiary-level schools or academies of fine art in Italy that are recognised by the Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Università e della Ricerca, the Italian ministry of higher education. Accademie di Belle Arti The offic ...

in Venice, and then in the Academy of Fine Arts of Milan. In 1859, to avoid conscription into the Austrian army, he fled Venice. By the next year in 1860, he tried to join with the forces of Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807-1882) in his

Expedition of the Thousand The Expedition of the Thousand ( it, Spedizione dei Mille) was an event of the Italian Risorgimento that took place in 1860. A corps of volunteers led by Giuseppe Garibaldi sailed from Quarto, near Genoa (now Quarto dei Mille) and landed in Mars ...

. This made it uncomfortable for him to reside in Venice, leading to a brief incarceration, and in 1862, he moved to Florence for 5 years where he 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 ...

. There he met a number of the artists known as the

Macchiaioli The Macchiaioli () were a group of Italian painters active in Tuscany in the second half of the nineteenth century. They strayed from antiquated conventions taught by the Italian art academies, and did much of their painting outdoors in order to ...

, including Signorini, Martorelli,

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 ...

and

Giuseppe Abbati Giuseppe Abbati (January 13, 1836February 21, 1868) was an Italian painter who belonged to the group known as the Macchiaioli. Biography Abbati was born in Naples. He received early training in painting from his father Vincenzo, who specialized ...

, and he joined them in painting landscapes outdoors. Painting outside of the studio, "

en plein air ''En plein air'' (; French for 'outdoors'), or ''plein air'' painting, is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting ...

", was at that time an innovative approach, allowing for a new vividness and spontaneity in the rendering of light. By 1866, Zandomeneghi had returned to Venice. In 1871 Pompeo Molmenti wrote glowing assessments of three young Venetian painters: Guglielmo Ciardi, Alessandro Zezzos, and Zandomeneghi. In 1872, he would travel to Rome and paint one of his masterworks; ''I poverini sui gradini dell'Ara Coeli''. In 1874, he went to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, where he was to spend nearly the rest of his life. He quickly made the acquaintance of the Impressionists, who had just had their first group exhibition. Zandomeneghi, whose style of painting was similar to theirs, would participate in four of their later exhibitions, in 1879, 1880, 1881, and 1886. Like his close friend Edgar Degas he was primarily a figure painter, although Zandomeneghi's work was more sentimental in character than Degas'. He also admired the work of

Mary Cassatt Mary Stevenson Cassatt (; May 22, 1844June 14, 1926) was an American painter and printmaker. She was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania (now part of Pittsburgh's North Side), but lived much of her adult life in France, where she befriended Edgar De ...

and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and his many paintings of women in their domestic routines follow their example.Broude, 1987, P.296. To supplement the meager returns from the sale of his paintings, Zandomeneghi found work drawing illustrations for

fashion magazine Fashion journalism is a component of fashion media, with a focus on writing and photojournalism. Fashion journalists write about fashion events, trends and have to cultivate and maintain a relationship with stylists and designers. A fashion journ ...

He took up working in

pastels A pastel () is an art medium in a variety of forms including a stick, a square a pebble or a pan of color; though other forms are possible; they consist of powdered pigment and a binder. The pigments used in pastels are similar to those use ...

in the early 1890s, and became especially adept in this medium. At about this time his reputation and his fortunes were enhanced when the art dealer

Durand-Ruel Paul Durand-Ruel (31 October 1831, Paris – 5 February 1922, Paris) was a French art dealer associated with the Impressionists and the Barbizon School. Being the first to support artists such as Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, and Pierre-Auguste ...

showed Zandomeneghi's work in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. From then on he enjoyed continuing modest success until his death in Paris in 1917.

Gallery

Federico Zandomeneghi Cycling 1896.jpg Zandomeneghi Matilde.jpg Zandomeneghi Federico-Promenade.jpg Zandomeneghi InBed.jpg Federico Zandomeneghi - Languor.jpg The last chance zandomeneghi.jpg Federico Zandomeneghi - Place d'Anvers, Paris.JPG Zandomeneghi LesDeuxSoeurs

Notes

References

* Broude, Norma (1987). ''The Macchiaioli: Italian Painters of the Nineteenth Century''. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. *Steingräber, Erich; Matteucci, Giuliano (1984). ''The Macchiaioli: tuscan painters of the sunlight''. New York: Stair Sainty Matthiesen Gallery. {{DEFAULTSORT:Zandomeneghi, Federico 1841 births 1917 deaths 19th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 20th-century Italian painters 20th-century Italian male artists Italian Impressionist painters Painters from Venice Italian expatriates in France 19th-century Italian male artists