Pietro Bonanni

Bonanni was a native of Carrara, and began his studies in the art academy of that city under Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Desmarais.

[2][3] From 1812 until 1814 he passed his time in Paris studying with Jacques-Louis David; he then returned to his native city and to Rome before traveling to Washington, D.C. sometime around 1816.

Two years after his arrival he opened a drawing and painting academy in the home of sculptor Giovanni Andrei, at the same time finding work as a decorative painter during the construction of the United States Capitol.

He died in Washington; the auction house of Peter Mauro offered paintings and prints from his estate for sale soon thereafter.

[1] Andrew Consentino has said of Bonanni that he was "the finest painter of the community at the time", and suggests that he "might have engendered a local tradition had he not died so prematurely".