Giuseppe De Nittis: Bridging Salon Art and Impressionism
Giuseppe De Nittis (1846-1884) was one of the most important Italian painters of the 19th century, whose work merges the styles of Salon art and Impressionism. Born in Barletta, Italy on February 25, 1846, he first studied under Giovanni Battista Calò before being expelled from the Instituto di Belle Arti in Naples for insubordination. Early Career
De Nittis launched his career with the exhibition of two paintings at the 1864 Neapolitan Promotrice. He came into contact with some of the artists known as the Macchiaioli, becoming friends with Telemaco Signorini and exhibiting in Florence. He also renewed his acquaintance with his former neighbor, Geremia Discanno, and both De Nittis and Discanno exhibited in Turin in 1867 and sold work there.
Parisian Period and Impressionism
In 1867 he moved to Paris and entered into a contract with the art dealer Adolphe Goupil which called for him to produce saleable genre works. After gaining some visibility by exhibiting at the Salon he returned to Italy where, feeling free to paint from nature, he produced several views of Vesuvius. In 1872 De Nittis returned to Paris and, no longer under contract to Goupil, achieved a success at the Salon with his painting Che freddo! (It's So Cold!) of 1874 (Private collection). The invitation came from Edgar Degas, who was a friend of several Italian artists residing in Paris, including Telemaco Signorini, Giovanni Boldini and Federico Zandomeneghi. De Nittis was not accepted by all of the Impressionists, and did not participate in their subsequent exhibitions.
Notable Achievements and Legacy
A trip to London resulted in a number of Impressionistic paintings. In 1875 De Nittis took up pastels, which became an important medium for him in his remaining years and which he helped popularize. Back in Paris, where his home was a favorite gathering place for Parisian writers and artists, as well as expatriate Italians, he executed pastel portraits of sitters including De Goncourt, Zola, Manet and Duranty. He preferred pastels as the medium for his largest works, such as the triptych entitled Races at Auteuil (1881). His use of light and color—a hallmark of Impressionism—captured the atmosphere of everyday life with remarkable sensitivity. De Nittis exhibited twelve paintings in the Exposition Universelle of 1878, and was awarded a gold medal. In that same year he received the Légion d’honneur.
Later Life and Artistic Influence
De Nittis died suddenly of a stroke at Saint-Germain-en-Laye in 1884. His wife, Léontine Lucile Gruvelle (married in 1869) donated his paintings to the town of Barletta and they are now gathered in the Pinacoteca De Nittis in the Palace of the Marra in the hometown of the painter. His work can be found in many public collections, including the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, British Museum in London, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Giuseppe De Nittis' legacy can be seen in the work of other artists who embraced Impressionistic techniques and sought to convey emotion through color and light—a contribution that continues to resonate today.
