Lionello Balestrieri Art
Italian, 1836-1912
Lionello Balestrieri (12 September 1872 – October 24, 1958) was an Italian painter and engraver, active in various styles mainly in Paris and Naples.
He was born in Cetona in the province of Siena, Tuscany, to a mason of modest means. But his skills gained him admission first to the Institute of Fine Arts of Rome, then of Naples. In Naples, Balestrieri was forced to support himself as a decorative painter for rooms in private residences, but continued studying under Gioacchino Toma. Then briefly re-enrolled in the Institute of Fine Arts of Naples, then under the leadership Filippo Palizzi and Domenico Morelli. However, lured by the bohemian artistic circles of Paris, at the age of 20 years he moved there, working as an assistant to the Florentine engraver Osvaldo Tofani. Balestrieri contributed engravings for an edition of Dante's Divina Commedia published by Vittorio Alinari in 1900. He became friend and apartment-mate, with a violinist, Giuseppe Vannicola, whom he depicting in a canvas Waiting for the glory, exhibited at the 1897 Paris Salon.
Music continued to inspire his art for decades. In 1898, he painted the Death of Mimì (illustrated below) (Museum of the City, New York), for which Balestrieri painted himself as Rodolfo. In 1899, he painted a canvas depicting Beethoven (Kreutzer Sonata). This painting, which was awarded a prize at the 1900 Universal Exposition in Paris and in 1901 in Venice, brought him fame. The painting depicts a dimly lit garret-like apartment with a strand of listeners along the left wall, each in their own mood, while a violinist plays between them and a furnace. The face of the musician is hidden, and the wall has the empty gaze of a plaster mask of Beethoven. Numerous reproductions were made and sold of the painting.
By the 20th century he had come to know prominent composers such as Puccini, Giordano and Cilea. In 1902, when his mentor Morelli was dying, he travelled to Naples; from this encounter came another prominent work: The last days of Domenico Morelli, first exhibited in Monaco (1902), then in Venice (1903), and now on display at the Galleria Civica of Udine.
Balestrieri continued to paint Romantic subjects, tinged with emotion, specially referring to music. His style often changed with exposure to other currents such as Impressionism, the Macchiaioli style, but also styles compelled by a social realism. However, in 1914, he left Paris and settled in Naples, where he was recruited to direct the Institute of Fine Arts. In Naples, he often favored landscapes, but also painted many genre scenes and portraits.
In his hometown of Cetona, a foundation named after the painter was established with the aim of fostering cultural events. It has organized, with the help of the comune, a number of restrospectives of the painter and his circle, including one in 2015 at the Palazzo Minutelli Ciolo (city hall).to
1
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
1
1
1
1
10,097
2,801
2,503
1,388
1
1
Artist: Lionello Balestrieri
Two lovers in a garden above Paris
By Lionello Balestrieri
Located in Genève, GE
Ed: 31/300
Work on paper
Golden wooden frame with glass pane
68 x 85.5 x 2.5 cm
Category
Mid-20th Century Lionello Balestrieri Art
Materials
Engraving
Related Items
Italian Boat at Sunrise
By Sidney Mackenzie Litten
Located in Middletown, NY
A nostalgic image of a bucolic farmyard and thatched cottage, hearkening to a bygone era.
Etching with drypoint on laid watercolor paper, 9 7/8 x 11 3/4 inches, (251 x 229 mm), full...
Category
Early 20th Century English School Lionello Balestrieri Art
Materials
Handmade Paper, Etching, Drypoint
Coenties Slip
By Charles Frederick William Mielatz
Located in Middletown, NY
Lower Manhattan and the Seaport as the artist imagined it would have appeared before 1835.
New York: 1907.
Etching with drypoint on Japon paper, 13 7/8 x 9 3/4 inches (353 x 248 mm...
Category
Late 19th Century American Modern Lionello Balestrieri Art
Materials
Etching, Drypoint, Handmade Paper
Seventy Percent Chance
By Art Werger
Located in Palm Springs, CA
Medium: Mezzotint
Year: 2023
Edition: 50
Image Size: 11.75 x 17.5 inches
Pedestrians sheltering from the rain under umbrellas in an urban downtown setting,
Art Werger’s prints show...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Lionello Balestrieri Art
Materials
Mezzotint
Salvador Dali - The Beloved Feeds Among the Lilies - Signed Aquatint
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
SALVADOR DALI (1904-1989)
THE BELOVED FEEDS AMONG THE LILIES, 1971
Board for the series "The Song of Songs hymns"
Aquatint and dry point on wove paper...
Category
1970s Surrealist Lionello Balestrieri Art
Materials
Drypoint, Aquatint
$3,729
H 22.25 in W 14.97 in D 0.04 in
Trees - Etching - 20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Trees is an lithograph on paper realized by an unknown artist in the 20th Century.
The artwork is in good condition.
Category
20th Century Modern Lionello Balestrieri Art
Materials
Engraving
Amiens; The Cathedral of Notre Dame, from the Lower Town
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Middletown, NY
A superb impression from the artist's own collection.
Etching with drypoint on watermarked FJ Head & Co. handmade laid paper, 10 3/4 x 9 7/8 inches (272 x 252 mm); sheet 18 1/8 x 14 ...
Category
Early 20th Century American Modern Lionello Balestrieri Art
Materials
Handmade Paper, Laid Paper, Etching, Drypoint
$1,700
H 10.71 in W 9.93 in
The original Whitney, Marcel Breuer Building (now Sotheby's), Woodcut engraving
By Richard Haas
Located in New York, NY
Richard Haas
The Whitney (Marcel Breuer Building), 1979
Woodcut engraving
Signed, titled, dated and numbered by the artist on the back. This is a rare Artist Proof 9/10, aside from ...
Category
1970s Realist Lionello Balestrieri Art
Materials
Engraving, Etching
$2,500
H 22.75 in W 18.25 in
Werner Drewes, 125th Street at Broadway, NYC
By Werner Drewes
Located in New York, NY
Werner Drewes brought his modernist vision to this subject but created, in my opinion, a great work of the Etching Revival.
The reference is Rose 183. It...
Category
1930s American Modern Lionello Balestrieri Art
Materials
Drypoint
Looking Up (left profile of a man looking toward the heavens)
By Maurice Pasternak
Located in New Orleans, LA
Maurice Pasternak has created a surreal landscape that includes several spirit-like creatures seeming to wander in an unknown landscape He moves images around on the paper to create ...
Category
Late 20th Century Surrealist Lionello Balestrieri Art
Materials
Mezzotint
Two Lake Landscapes - Original Etching and Drypoint - 1970s
Located in Roma, IT
Image dimensions: 10 x 14.8 cm.
Two Lake Landscapes are the subjects on these two original black and white etchings and drypoint on paper,l realized by a German artist whose signatu...
Category
1970s Lionello Balestrieri Art
Materials
Drypoint, Etching
$360
H 16.93 in W 12.01 in D 0.08 in
Swing (The swing of the bat from #27 a right handed hitter. Play Baseball!
By Art Werger
Located in New Orleans, LA
Play Ball! No. 27 unleashes a mighty swing at the ball. Both umpire and catcher are in their huddled crouch. "Swing" is an exclusive publication of Stone and Press Gallery by Art We...
Category
Late 20th Century American Modern Lionello Balestrieri Art
Materials
Mezzotint
Venus abducting Adonis.; Plate 2 from The Story of Adonis
By Herman van Swanevelt
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching with engraving on thin laid paper with an unidentified ovoid purple ink stamp (not in Lugt), 9 3/4 x 12 7/8 inches (247 x 326 mm), thread margins. Uniform age tone with scatt...
Category
Early 17th Century Old Masters Lionello Balestrieri Art
Materials
Laid Paper, Engraving, Etching
$500
H 9.73 in W 12.84 in
Lionello Balestrieri art for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Lionello Balestrieri art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Lionello Balestrieri in engraving and more. Not every interior allows for large Lionello Balestrieri art, so small editions measuring 26 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Virgilio Guidi, Orazio Toschi, and Luigi Rossini. Lionello Balestrieri art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $742 and tops out at $742, while the average work can sell for $742.