The four Palizzi brothers were born between 1812 and 1825 to Antonio Palizzi, a Sicilian from a family long settled in Lanciano, and Doralice Del Greco, the daughter of a notary from Vasto. The family, which eventually included nine children, moved to Vasto in 1812, settling in a house on Via San Teodoro (now Via San Francesco). A commemorative plaque on the house marks the last visit of the now-famous Filippo to the city in 1895.
The first of the Palizzi brothers to pursue an artistic career was the second-born, Giuseppe, who left Vasto in 1835 to study painting at the Naples Academy of Fine Arts with the landscape artist Antonio Van Pitloo and later with his pupil, the Vasto-born Gabriele Smargiassi.
These artists, part of the so-called “Posillipo School,” promoted a “realistic” approach to painting that rejected the prevailing Neoclassicism, which was focused on Greek and Roman mythology, and instead celebrated the poetry found in nature.
Giuseppe’s presence in Naples soon attracted his younger brother Filippo, born on June 16, 1818, who arrived in 1836. Filippo’s relationship with Smargiassi was marked by significant artistic and political conflicts. Smargiassi was a supporter of the Bourbons, while the Palizzi brothers were carbonari, advocating for revolutionary ideals. While Giuseppe would eventually emigrate to France in 1844, where he would remain until his death in 1888, Filippo developed his own distinctive technique centered on chiaroscuro and the use of photographic plates for preparing sketches. This led artist Domenico Morelli to compare him to Caravaggio:
“Like Caravaggio, he felt that the categorical and all-encompassing use of chiaroscuro was the most effective means to depict the truth; he brought new vitality to light; he imbued shadows with greater mystery; and in the painterly patchwork, he saw the faint ghosts that preoccupied his solitary life: the cow, the sheep, the dog, the donkey. With these humble elements, he created marvelous pictorial compositions and often reached formal fullness, opening new horizons for Italian painting. He equally cultivated a passion for the human figure, landscape, and still life.”
Filippo’s artistic influence also drew his younger brothers, Nicola (born 1820) and Francesco Paolo (born 1825), to Naples. Nicola focused on landscapes, while Francesco Paolo specialized in still lifes and figure painting, often working on religious themes. Sadly, both brothers passed away at a young age, between 1870 and 1871.
The deaths of his younger brothers marked a turning point in Filippo’s career, which had already achieved international fame. He had gained recognition for his 100 etchings created for the work Uses and Customs of Naples, Described and Painted (1853) and for the success of his masterpiece After the Deluge, displayed at the 1867 Paris Exposition Universelle.
Despite his fame, Filippo Palizzi led a more private life but continued to paint. In 1878, he accepted the presidency of the Royal Institute of Fine Arts in Naples, at the invitation of the Minister of Public Education. He held the position, with a brief pause to focus on the Naples Museum of Industrial Art, until his death on September 11, 1899, in Naples.
Today, Filippo Palizzi is remembered as one of Italy’s greatest artists of the late 19th century and a key figure of Verismo. The major collections of his work can be found in Naples, at the Academy of Fine Arts, the National Museum of Capodimonte, and the Royal Palace. Important collections are also housed in Milan, Lucera, Giulianova, and Genoa. The Modern Art Gallery in Rome has a “Palizzi Room,” which includes a bust in his honor, sculpted by Achille Orsi.
Additionally, numerous works by Palizzi, including polychrome maiolica pieces created during his time as president of the Institute of Industrial Art, can be found at the Art Institute of Naples.
