Sunday, April 3, 2011

Vittorio Matteo Corcos

Dreams by Vittorio Matteo CorcosVittorio Matteo Corcos was born in Livorno in 1859. He attended the “Accademia di Belle Arti” in Florence in the 1870s, studying under Enrico Pollastrini. Between 1878 and 1879 he was then in Naples at the studio of the painter Domenico Morelli, whose work greatly influenced him.
The Wounded Puppy by Vittorio Matteo CorcosIn 1880 Corcos moved to Paris and was able to sign a fifteen year contract the art dealer Goupil & Cie, becoming a quite fashionable portraitist, well known in elite circles. He frequently visited the workshop of Giuseppe De Nittis where he met Boldini, Degas and the Goncourt brothers.Reading by the Sea by Vittorio Matteo CorcosHe returned to Italy in 1886. The following year Corcos, who was Jewish, converted to Catholicism to marry Emma Ciabatti and moved to Florence. It was through his marriage that he came in contact with intellectuals like Carducci and D’Annunzio.Afternoon on the Terrace by Vittorio Matteo CorcosBy the turn of the century Corcos was an affirmed portrait painter. In 1904 he went to Germany for a portrait of the Kaiser, later he painted a famous portrait of Queen Amelia of Portugal. One of his last works was the portrait of the Queen Margherita of Savoy.

The paintings in this post:
Sogni (Dreams), 1896
Neron blessé (The Wounded Puppy), 1899
Lettura sul mare (Reading by the Sea), 1910
Pomeriggio in terrazza (Afternoon on the Terrace)

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

As if they were still alive. Great pieces of art indeed.

Please have a good Sunday.

Jack said...

Isn't it interesting to see such a classical, traditional portraitist working at the same time as Monet, Degas and other impressionists. .

Luis Gomez said...

Wonderful post VP, thank you.

Kaori said...

A very talented artist! The paintings are lovely :-D

Randy said...

That first painting is so beautiful.

Small City Scenes said...

Lovely paintings--all of them. This man is a Master for sure. Great expression as if they right here with us. MB

Small City Scenes said...

Oh I forgot to add---great info too. Thanks. MB

Traveling Hawk said...

A very nice and informative post. I like these paintings.

joo said...

I like these paintings, and thanks for info:)
Happy Sunday!

Birdman said...

Thanks for sharing this information on the this painter.

cieldequimper said...

All wonderful scenes of leisurely days but not so much my cup of tea in the style. Still, technically lovely use of light.

Anonymous said...

So technically perfect, almost like a photo of the subject(s). I admire the ability to create portraits like these...but for color drama passion a look at the messiness of real life give me a Vincent van Gogh! Thank you for sharing!

Arianna said...

Lo conoscevo poco, veramente un grande artista! Meriterebbe di essere conosciuto di puù, come tanti...ciao, Arianna!

Francisca said...

Heavens, VP, I almost asked you who your model for the top image was! So realistic. It's a window into the lifestyles of that day. Beautifully done. And I was not aware of this painter.

Cezar and Léia said...

Great artist... The girl in the last ones reminds me of Frida Kahlo.
God bless you!
Cezar

Gunn said...

Magnificent ART!

(I have learnt something new, - and if you google "Skagenmalerne" you might find out something about Scandinavian artists who did something similar up in the north of Denmark, a place called Skagen.)

Kate said...

It took me awhile to find the woundedTerrace." My favorite is the last, "Afternoon on the Terrace."

EG CameraGirl said...

I wish I could draw and paint like that!

Dina said...

Another example of "local boy makes good." Corcos really knew what he was doing (well, except for the conversion).

Halcyon said...

Glad those hairstyles went out of fashion. :)

Unknown said...

These are so beautiful! Love the 'Reading by the Sea' composition.