Giuseppe De Nittis

Giuseppe De Nittis (February 25, 1846 – August 21, 1884)[1] was one of the most important Italian painters of the 19th century, whose work merges the styles of Salon art and Impressionism.

[2] Barletta at the time of the Bourbons, and in particular during the reign of Ferdinand II, nicknamed the "Bomb King" for having his own subjects cannonaded, was an extremely class-oriented city and those who could afford it gathered regularly near De Nittis' home beneath the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher with its bronze Colossus of Heraclius in front.

[2] 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.

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.

[1] Back in Paris, where his home was a favorite gathering place for Parisian writers and artists as well as for expatriate Italians, he executed pastel portraits of sitters including De Goncourt, Zola, Manet, and Duranty.

His wife, the Parisian 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.