Pietro Capelli

Architectural Capriccio with a Statue of Hercules, oil on canvas, priv. col.

Pietro Capelli or Pietro Cappelli (born circa 1700, died 1724 or 1727) ^[1] was an Italian painter of the Rococo, active in his native city of Naples.

Biography

Pietro Capelli was born in Naples around 1700. His father, Giuseppe Capelli, was a scenic designer at the Teatro San Bartolomeo in Naples. His brother, Giuseppe Capell, was a painter in Rome of scenographic decoration (theatrical decorations). ^[2] Capelli trained under Francesco Solimena. He was active in quadratura, but also painted capricci and canvases with landscapes. He was a rival of Leonardo Coccorante. Grossi states that he was so full of imagination, and fast at painting, that he did not even sketch beforehand for his works. ^[3]

Notes

1. "Pietro Cappelli". RKDartists. 31 March 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
2. Boni 1852, p. 184.
3. Grossi, Giovanni Battista Gennaro (1820). Le Belle Arti. Vol. 2. Naples: Tipografia del Giornale Enciclopedico. pp. 198–9. Era egli tanto feroce di fantasia, e tanto veloce nel pingere, che dell'opere sue neppure faceva lo schizzo.

References

• Minieri-Riccio, Camillo (1844). Memorie storiche degli scrittori nati nel regno di Napoli. Naples: Tipografia dell'Aquila di V. Puzziello. pp. 75–76.
• Boni, Filippo de' (1852). Biografia degli artisti ovvero dizionario della vita e delle opere dei pittori, degli scultori, degli intagliatori, dei tipografi e dei musici di ogni nazione che fiorirono da' tempi più remoti sino á nostri giorni (2nd ed.). Venice: Presso Andrea Santini e Figlio. p. 184.