One of 30 artists exhibiting at the First Impressionist Exhibition, his painting was still realist, he achieved success, but died suddenly at the height of his career in 1884.
Macchiaioli
In 1855, he joined the Macchiaioli and painted small oil sketches en plein air, which he later turned into finished landscapes in the studio. And histories.
Dividing his life between New York and Rome, by 1870 he was painting Symbolist masterpieces and superb landscapes in Italy.
Naturalism was a phenomenon of Northern Europe, centred in Paris with Jules Bastien-Lepage as its high priest. Except here it is in the Italian island of Sicily, in the backstreets of Catania.
Now seen as the odd man out of the Impressionists, at the time he had great influence. Here are samples of the work of those he influenced.
Degas was nothing if not thoroughly sociable. Here are some of his more significant artistic friendships, with paintings.
A major influence in Italian art in the 1800s, he was highly skilled in telling stories, and solved problems which had troubled the Masters before.
The first American symbolist, his beautiful paintings are rich in symbols and stories, and decorate the Library of Congress.
The final four and a half years of De Nittis’s career were busy, productive, and successful.
Almost forgotten today, he was technically brilliant, and a full-bore Impressionist. Here is his life and paintings to 1879.
The Eclectic Light Company 