Alfonso Balzico was an Italian painter and sculptor. He was born in Cava de' Tirreni

Cava de' Tirreni

Cava de’ Tirreni is a city and comune in the region of Campania, Italy, in the province of Salerno, 10 km northwest of the town of Salerno...

, near Salerno

Salerno

Salerno is a city and comune in Campania and is the capital of the province of the same name. It is located on the Gulf of Salerno on the Tyrrhenian Sea....

 in Italy and died in Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

.

After studying at the Academy of the Arts in Naples he traveled to Milan and Florence in 1858 and 1860, where his views turned away from Neo-classicism towards realism and romanticism. Later, his work attracted the attention of Victor Emanuel II, the King of Italy and he painted several portraits in Turin

Turin

Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...

. In 1866 he became the sculptor of the House of Savoy

House of Savoy

The House of Savoy was formed in the early 11th century in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, it grew from ruling a small county in that region to eventually rule the Kingdom of Italy from 1861 until the end of World War II, king of Croatia and King of Armenia...

. In 1875 he went to Rome and in 1900 his statue of Flavio Gioia won the gold medal at the Exposition Universelle, Paris, one year before his death.

Sources

• Art Encyclopedia http://www.answers.com/topic/alfonso-balzico-1