Michele Felice Cornè (1752–1845) was an artist born in

Elba Elba ( it, isola d'Elba, ; la, Ilva) is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano Nationa ...

who settled in the United States. He lived in Salem and

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Massachusetts; and in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...

. He painted marine scenes, portraits, and interior decorations such as fireboards and murals.

Biography

Cornè grew up 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 adm ...

. Drafted by the Neapolitan army to help repel the brief French occupation of Naples in 1799, he fled and was brought to the United States on the ship ''Mount Vernon'', commanded by Elias Hasket Derby Jr., and settled in

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the ...

in 1800. After his arrival, he lived at Captain Derby's house, which he inherited from the recent death of his father. The location of the mansion remains, but the home was torn down in 1815. On that spot is

Old Town Hall Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...

which was designed by

Charles Bulfinch Charles Bulfinch (August 8, 1763 – April 15, 1844) was an early American architect, and has been regarded by many as the first American-born professional architect to practice.Baltzell, Edward Digby. ''Puritan Boston & Quaker Philadelphia''. Tran ...

and dedicated by President

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe was ...

in 1816 on his New England tour to keep the country together after the

Hartford Convention The Hartford Convention was a series of meetings from December 15, 1814, to January 5, 1815, in Hartford, Connecticut, United States, in which the New England Federalist Party met to discuss their grievances concerning the ongoing War of 1812 and ...

which was organized by

Timothy Pickering Timothy Pickering (July 17, 1745January 29, 1829) was the third United States Secretary of State under Presidents George Washington and John Adams. He also represented Massachusetts in both houses of Congress as a member of the Federalist Pa ...

and his

Essex Junto The Essex Junto was a powerful group of New England Federalist Party lawyers, merchants, and politicians, so called because many in the original group were from Essex County, Massachusetts. Origins and definition The term was coined as an inv ...

. Cornè moved to Boston in 1807 and lived and worked there until 1822. In 1806 he created a large "panorama" or

panoramic painting Panoramic paintings are massive artworks that reveal a wide, all-encompassing view of a particular subject, often a landscape, military battle, or historical event. They became especially popular in the 19th century in Europe and the United Sta ...

, 10 feet high by 60 feet long, of the ''Bombardment of Tripoli'', commemorating American victory in the First Barbary War (1801-1805). (This panoramic version may have been adapted from a smaller (81 x 122 cm) oil painting in the collection of the Maine Historical Society.) The work was exhibited in December 1806 at the Concert Hall in Boston, after which it traveled to Portsmouth, N.H. and Portland, Maine. It was later displayed as a part of a larger ''Panorama of the Battle of Bunker Hill'' exhibition at Washington Hall in Salem. In 1810 he painted the wall murals at the Sullivan Dorr house in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...

. After the historic battle of USS ''Constitution'' vs HMS ''Guerriere'' on August 19, 1812, Cornè created a series of four paintings showing four key events in the battle. All four paintings are in the collection of the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA. In 1822 Cornè relocated to

. His house in Newport still stands on Cornè Street. He lived there until his death in 1845 at the age of 93. He was buried in the

Common Burial Ground The Common Burying Ground and Island Cemetery are a pair of separate cemetery, cemeteries on Farewell and Warner Street in Newport, Rhode Island, Newport, Rhode Island. Together they contain over 5,000 graves, including a Colonial America, colonia ...

in Newport.

Legacy

Examples of his work are in the collections of Historic New England; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Peabody Essex Museum; Redwood Library and Athenaeum; and U.S. Naval Academy Museum. Interior murals painted by Cornè survive in the Sullivan Dorr house, Providence, Rhode Island. One of his students was the noted maritime artist

George Ropes George Ropes Jr. (1788–1819) was an American artist, known for his maritime oil paintings.George Ropes, Jr. Death Notice, ''Columbian Centinel,'' 27 Jan 1819 (https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/50015/40699_1220705043_3551-00116?pid=293642&backur ...

. File:1799 ship America of Salem byMFCorne.png, 1799 File:Landing of the Pilgrims by Cornè - circa 1805.jpg, ''Landing of the Pilgrims'', ca.1805 File:USS Constitution vs Guerriere.jpg File:Fireboard view of Chatsworth Derbyshire byMicheleFeliceCorne.png File:Two Children at Play with a White Bird.jpeg File:NH 65536-KN.jpg

Cornè and tomatoes

It is reputed that Cornè introduced the

tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...

into the American diet. In early 19th century New England tomatoes were thought to be deadly poison. Cornè was accustomed to eating tomatoes in his native land and would regularly eat them without ill effect and, thus, allayed the fears of the residents of his adopted country. The tomato is native to western South America, and was formally cultivated by the Aztecs and other peoples in Mesoamerica. Smith, A. F. (1994). ''The Tomato in America: Early History, Culture, and Cookery''. Columbia SC, US: University of South Carolina Press. .

References

External links

* WorldCat
Cornè, Michele Felice 1752-1845
* Maine Historical Societ

''Bombardment of Tripoli'' oil painting, 81 x 122 cm. * Library of Congress
''Bombardment of Tripoli''
engraving by Cornè. * Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress)
Sullivan Dorr House, 109 Benefit Street, Providence
Rhode Island. Includes information about mural by Cornè. {{DEFAULTSORT:Corne, Michel Felice 1757 births 1845 deaths 18th-century Neapolitan people 19th-century American painters American male painters American marine artists Artists from Newport, Rhode Island Artists from Boston Italian emigrants to the United States Italian marine artists Orientalist painters Painters from Naples Painters from Massachusetts Painters from Rhode Island People from North End, Boston People from the Province of Livorno Burials at Common Burying Ground and Island Cemetery 19th-century American male artists

Biography

Legacy

Cornè and tomatoes

See also

References

Further reading

External links