Born in Reggio Emilia on 1 July 1838 and died in the same city on 16 January 1920. He first learned painting practice at the Academy of Fine Arts in his hometown, under the guidance of Prospero Minghetti, then, from 1858, at that of Bologna. Obtained a grant from the Ferrari-Bonini institute in Bologna, he went to Florence in 1859 to perfect himself at the nude school of that Academy, where he was awarded the first prize. The marriage with Maria Mazzieri, a young Modenese of peasant origin, dates back to the early days of the Florentine stay (1859-1866). In 1866 he retired to his hometown, where from 1882 to 1907 he was director of the Royal School of Drawing for the Workers of Reggio Emilia. Dedicated to study from life, he perfects himself in genre subjects of internal setting inspired by the peasant life of Montecalvo. He produced many paintings which, sent to Vienna (Universal Exposition of 1873, where he was awarded with Il bagno), Munich (he was present three times at the International Expositions: in 1888 with Pleased Surprise, The First Smoke, In the Kitchen, in 1889 with Intimacy and A Catastrophe, in 1900 with Domestic Peace) and Berlin (International Exhibition of 1891: The announced guest), they are widespread in the rest of Europe and in the United States of America. In addition to Milan, Naples and Parma, he took part in international exhibitions in London from 1877 to 1881, Boston, Brussels, Antwerp, Liverpool, Vienna, Munich and Paris, enjoying great success. In 1873 he was appointed knight of the Order of the Crown of Italy by Vittorio Emanuele II. In 1889, together with six fellow citizens, he founded the Reggio Emilia Society for Africa, as part of the Crispi government's colonial agricultural policy in Eritrea; to this end, in December of the same year he makes an expedition in the Keren area. On his return he paints some landscapes: Tramonto d Africa, Notturno in Seganeti and Effects of the moon in Porto Said (Reggio Emilia, Bagnoli collection). He is also the author of several portraits - Self-portrait, Portrait of A. Levi, Portrait of Mrs. Minghetti Nobili (Reggio Emilia, Civic Museums) and some fresco decorations with still lifes, animals and children in a room of Villa Levi in via Fontanelli and the dining room of his home in Piazza Fontanesi in Reggio. Honorary member of many academies, he is also a municipal councilor (1889) and then the first socialist mayor of Reggio (1900-1902), advisor to the directive commission of the Civic Museums, president of the Congregation of Charity and of the administration of the Tempio della Ghiara. He died in his hometown on January 16, 1920. His works are kept in private collections and in the main Italian and foreign museums, including the Antonio Fontanesi Pinacoteca in Reggio Emilia (Beffe al gatto, 1870 and La chioccia, circa 1897), the Cassa di Risparmio di Reggio Emilia (The joys of a mother, 1866, The admonition of the friar, around 1860, First steps, 1865, drawing, Good company, drawing, post 1865), the Civic Museums of Art and History of Brescia (Rabbits around an overturned basket), the Gallery of Modern Art of Florence (The joys of a mother, 1866), the Gallery of Modern Art of Genoa-Nervi (First steps, 1865, Good company , drawing, post 1865), the Civic Museum Borgona di Vercelli (The cobbler's son or The first steps, 1873, Children's games, 1898), the Pinacoteca dell’Accademia di Brera in Milan (The mask, exhibited in Parma in 1870 , A discovery, The baby food, The first steps, The soldier's children, The sick mother, The one-year volunteer, You are sorry cenze dell’infanzia, The veteran and infantile jokes, the latter three exhibited in Naples in 1877), the art collections of the Cariplo Foundation at the Gallerie d’Italia in Milan (The lesson at the convent, 1864, L ' instinct to arms, 1868) and the Alfred O. Deshong Collection of Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania (Girl who feeds cats, Hasty pudding or Polenta hour, 1883).
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