FRANCESCO SAVERIO ALTAMURA (ITALIAN 1822-1897)

Property from a Private Neapolitan Collection

FRANCESCO SAVERIO ALTAMURA (ITALIAN 1822-1897)
Portrait of a young Neopolitan man, bust length.
signed 'F S Altamura' (lower right)
oil on canvas
74 x 60 cm

After moving to Naples in 1840, Altamura enrolled at the Accademia di Belle Arti, alongside artists such as Domenico Morelli. However, his work there was short lived, as from 1848 he began fighting at the baracades of Santa Brigida, which eventually led to him fleeing to exile, where he ended up in Florence by 1850. It was during this time in Florence that he joined a circle of artists who met at the Cafe Michaelangiolo along with other painters from the Tuscan school of Macchiaioli.

Notably, in 1865 he was responsible for a frescoe in the Chapel of the Palazzo Reale of Naples. Other significant works have included five altarpieces and four canvases for the restored parish church of Castrignano de' Greci in the province of Lecce, Italy.