The Académie Vitti was an art school in Paris, France. It was founded and operated by a family of Italian artists' models from the Valle di Comino to the south of Rome. The academy was progressive in its support for women artists, and gained a high reputation. Teachers included

Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramist, and writer, whose work has been primarily associated with the Post-Impressionist and Symbolist movements. He was also an influ ...

and Frederick William MacMonnies.

History

The Académie Vitti, a private art school at 49, boulevard du Montparnasse, Paris was founded in 1889 by Cesare Vitti, his wife Maria Caira, and her sisters Anna Caira and Jacinta Caira. Cesare Vitti came from Casalvieri, a village in the Valle di Comino close to Atina in the mountains south of Rome. He began as an artist's model, then became a painter and sculptor himself. The three Caira sisters, their cousin Carmela and their brother Antonio came from nearby Gallinaro. They moved to Paris and worked as models for painters, sculptors and photographers.

Antonio Caira posed as a blacksmith for the French 100 franc banknote drawn by Luc-Olivier Merson (1846–1920). Maria Caira was in great demand as a model due to her "perfect" body. She posed for the American Frederick William MacMonnies (1863–1937) for his sculpture of Diana the Huntress. Carmela Caira posed for

James Abbott McNeill Whistler James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834July 17, 1903) was an American painter in oils and watercolor, and printmaker, active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral a ...

(1834–1903),

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual arts, visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, ...

(1869–1954), Émile Bernard (1868–1941) and Alice Pike Barney (1857–1931). The Académie Vitti was one of the first to accept female students, and to allow women to sketch nude male models. It became highly respected. The Caira-Vitti family returned to Italy just before the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

(1914–18), taking many works and memorabilia from the academy.

Museum

Cesare Erario, a descendant of the family, inherited the house that the family occupied in Atina after their return. He found the collection of objects from the academy in the attic, researched the academy, and in 2013 opened the house as a museum to exhibit the collection. The display includes some paintings, many sketches in charcoal, chalk and pencil, including some of Jacinta Caira's paintings and drawings. It also includes many costume photographs and postcards by photographers such as

Nadar Gaspard-Félix Tournachon (; 5 April 1820 – 20 March 1910), known by the pseudonym Nadar () or Félix Nadar'','' was a French photographer, caricaturist, journalist, novelist, balloon (aircraft), balloonist, and proponent of History of avi ...

. Photographs of the family and the academy give a view of life in private art schools of the period.

Teachers

Teachers included

(1848–1903), Luc-Olivier Merson, Frederick MacMonnies, Jacques-Émile Blanche (1861–1942) and Hermenegildo Anglada Camarasa (1871–1959). In March 1903 Walter Sickert (1860–1942) began teaching again in Paris, probably at the Académie Vitti with Blanche and Lucien Simon (1861–1945).

Kees van Dongen Cornelis Theodorus Maria "Kees" van Dongen (26 January 1877 – 28 May 1968) was a Dutch-French painter who was one of the leading Fauves. Van Dongen's early work was influenced by the Hague School and symbolism and it evolved gradually into a ...

(1877–1968) influenced many of his female students at the academy with an interest in

fauvism Fauvism ( ) is a style of painting and an art movement that emerged in France at the beginning of the 20th century. It was the style of (, ''the wild beasts''), a group of modern artists whose works emphasized painterly qualities and strong col ...

. He showed artists such as Tyko Sallinen (1879–1955) and

Ragnhild Kaarbø Ragnhild Kaarbø (26 December 1889 – 20 August 1949) was a Norwegian painter. Influenced by Fauvism, she painted expressionistic portraits. She was also influenced by Cubism, but as her cubistic paintings were criticized by the press, she e ...

(1889–1949) a direction that would lead to Nordic

expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

. Other teachers at the academy were

Paul Gervais Paul Gervais (full name: François Louis Paul Gervais) (26 September 1816 – 10 February 1879) was a French palaeontologist and entomologist. Biography Gervais was born in Paris, where he obtained the diplomas of doctor of science and of medic ...

(1859–1934) and, as an assistant, María Blanchard (1871–1959). Maria Blanchard studied at the academy under Kees van Dongen and Hermén Anglada Camarasa.

Students

The Académie Vitti attracted art students from many countries, including: * Konstanty Brandel (1880–1970), Poland * Colin Campbell Cooper (1856–1937), US * Alson S. Clark (1876–1949) * Mabel Conkling (1871–1966), US * Charles Ginner (1878–1952), England * Aleksandr Golovin (1863–1930), Russia * Abbott Fuller Graves (1859–1936), US * Pekka Halonen (1865–1933), Finland * Mary Riter Hamilton (1873–1954), Canada * Elizaveta Kruglikova (1865–1941), Russia * Janet Scudder (1869–1940), US * David Shterenberg (1881–1948), Russia * Ada Walter Shulz (1870–1928), US * Claire Shuttleworth (1867–1930), US * Enid Yandell (1869–1934), US * Louise Zaring (1872–1970), US

Notes

Sources

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT: 1894 establishments in France 1914 disestablishments in France Art schools in Paris