Antonio Mancini

[Mischa Milosevic]

Antonio is a interesting fellow artist. They say that he was a very precocious artist: he arrived in Naples in 1865, entering the Institute of Fine Arts when he was only twelve years old, and studied there under Filippo Palizzi and Morelli.

A portrait painter who worked primarily in Rome after 1883, Antonio Mancini developed an interest in the rich palettes and dark, tonal contrasts of Italian Baroque painting. Over the course of several trips to Paris, he also acquired a taste for contemporary stylistic developments, and met Edouard Manet and Edgar Degas during one such visit in 1875. Two years later, after being introduced to early Impressionist paintings by his Parisian dealer, Alphonse Goupil, Mancini revealed the depth of his interest in the French avant-garde by pursuing the group's concern with the materiality of the canvas. Applying his oils with reckless and ecstatic abandon, he went so far as to incorporate bits of colored glass and foil into the surfaces he built up.

One of my favorite of his is his self portrait. To his self portrait we add his portrait of Sargent and Resting

[Gregg Claussen]

There can be no doubt that Antonio Mancini deserves credit, but I think he is widly known as a painter of street children His compositions are superior. It is hard to argue that Robert Henri has the same influence, although Henri wasn't nearly as crafty wielding that brush as Mancini was. Of course, these are just my opinions.

Oh, and thanks for posting this as he is a favorite of mine!

[Linda Brandon]

Thank you, Mischa!