Pietro Pezzati
Pietro Pezzati was an Italian painter who moved from the Kingdom of Italy to the United States during the mid-19th century. He established a reputation within the academic and medical circles of Boston. Pezzati became a preferred artist for the Harvard University faculty and the Massachusetts General Hospital. His subjects included the astronomer Percival Lowell and various leaders in American medicine. This connection to the intellectual elite of the era distinguishes his work from the traditional religious subjects of his Italian contemporaries.
Biography
His artistic approach favoured a direct and realistic style reminiscent of the Lombard tradition of unidealized appearances. Pezzati avoided the heavy ornamentation common in many Victorian portraits. He used a palette of muted colours to direct attention toward the expression and character of the sitter. The works possess a formal quality that conveys the professional status of his subjects. His portraits of Edward Waldo Forbes and Alexander Goodlet Cumnock demonstrate a straightforward treatment of the human face. The compositions are stable and balanced.
Modern collectors find these prints appealing for their historical weight and clear execution. The portraits provide a sense of gravitas to a home office or library. Pezzati's technique is precise and lacks the sentimentality often found in academic art of the period. His work represents a specific era of scientific and academic progress in New England. These pieces offer a link to the history of education through a classic Italian lens.
Notable Works
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Pietro Pezzati prints
Hand-finished archival prints from Pietro Pezzati's body of work.
Robert Higgins Ebert (1914-1996) - Pietro Pezzati
From £28.00
Charles Sydney Hopkinson - Pietro Pezzati
From £28.00
George Packer Berry - Pietro Pezzati
From £28.00
William Parker Cooke - Pietro Pezzati
From £28.00
Edward Waldo Forbes - Pietro Pezzati
From £28.00
Alexander Goodlet Cumnock - Pietro Pezzati
From £28.00
Related Artists
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See all Pietro Pezzati prints →Frequently Asked Questions
When was Pietro Pezzati born?
Pietro Pezzati was born in 1828 and died in 1890.What is Pietro Pezzati known for?
Pietro Pezzati is known for pietro Pezzati was a 19th-century Italian painter who documented the academic elite of Boston, producing direct and realistic portraits of Harvard's most prominent scholars and physicians.