Giovanni Costa
Encyclopedia
Giovanni Costa known as Nino, was an Italian
landscape
painter
and revolutionary.
. He fought under Garibaldi
in 1848, and served as a volunteer in the war of 1859; his enthusiasm for Italian unity was actively shown again in 1870, when he was the first to mount the breach in the assault of Rome near the Porta Pia
.
He had settled meanwhile at Florence
, where his fight for the independence of art from worn-out traditions was no less strenuous, and he became known as a landscape-painter of remarkable originality, and of great influence in the return to minute observation of nature. He was a major inspiration to the artists known as the Macchiaioli
, and also had many English and American friends and followers, notably Elihu Vedder
, Matthew Ridley Corbet
(1850-1902) and his wife Edith Corbet
, and Lord Carlisle, and was closely associated with Corot and the Barbizon school
.
In later years he lived and worked mainly in Rome, where his studio was an important centre. An exhibition of his pictures was held in London in 1904, and he is represented in the Tate Gallery
. He died at Rome on 31 Jnauary 1903.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
landscape
Landscape art
Landscape art is a term that covers the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, and especially art where the main subject is a wide view, with its elements arranged into a coherent composition. In other works landscape backgrounds for figures can still...
painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
and revolutionary.
Biography
Costa was born in RomeRome
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...
. He fought under Garibaldi
Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Garibaldi was an Italian military and political figure. In his twenties, he joined the Carbonari Italian patriot revolutionaries, and fled Italy after a failed insurrection. Garibaldi took part in the War of the Farrapos and the Uruguayan Civil War leading the Italian Legion, and...
in 1848, and served as a volunteer in the war of 1859; his enthusiasm for Italian unity was actively shown again in 1870, when he was the first to mount the breach in the assault of Rome near the Porta Pia
Porta Pia
Porta Pia is a gate in the Aurelian Walls of Rome, Italy. One of Pope Pius IV's civic improvements to the city, it is named after him. Situated at the end of a new street, the Via Pia, it was designed by Michelangelo in replacement for the Porta Nomentana situated several hundred meters...
.
He had settled meanwhile at Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, where his fight for the independence of art from worn-out traditions was no less strenuous, and he became known as a landscape-painter of remarkable originality, and of great influence in the return to minute observation of nature. He was a major inspiration to the artists known as the Macchiaioli
Macchiaioli
The Macchiaioli were a group of Italian painters active in Tuscany in the second half of the nineteenth century, who, breaking with the antiquated conventions taught by the Italian academies of art, did much of their painting outdoors in order to capture natural light, shade, and colour...
, and also had many English and American friends and followers, notably Elihu Vedder
Elihu Vedder
Elihu Vedder was an American symbolist painter, book illustrator, and poet, born in New York City....
, Matthew Ridley Corbet
Matthew Ridley Corbet
Matthew Ridley Corbet was a Victorian neoclassical painter who attended classes at the Slade School of Art under Alexander Davis Cooper and later at the Royal Academy Schools under Frederic Leighton, President of the Academy. Corbet went to Italy in 1880 and met Giovanni Costa, one of Leighton's...
(1850-1902) and his wife Edith Corbet
Edith Corbet
Edith Corbet , was a Victorian landscape painter, having close associations with the Macchiaioli group , who, in a break with tradition, painted outdoors in order to capture natural light effects and favoured a panoramic format for their paintings...
, and Lord Carlisle, and was closely associated with Corot and the Barbizon school
Barbizon school
The Barbizon school of painters were part of a movement towards realism in art, which arose in the context of the dominant Romantic Movement of the time. The Barbizon school was active roughly from 1830 through 1870...
.
In later years he lived and worked mainly in Rome, where his studio was an important centre. An exhibition of his pictures was held in London in 1904, and he is represented in the Tate Gallery
Tate Gallery
The Tate is an institution that houses the United Kingdom's national collection of British Art, and International Modern and Contemporary Art...
. He died at Rome on 31 Jnauary 1903.