Chronology

The Mancinis move to Naples, where Antonio is enrolled in July as a pupil in the Istituto di Belle Arti. Begins friendship with fellow student Vincenzo Gemito; the two later take life-drawing classes from the sculptor Stanislao Lista.

1866

Wins second-class prize in figure drawing, the first in a series of awards received while at the Istituto di Belle Arti.

1868

Influenced by the realist painter Domenico Morelli, Mancini paints his first major oil composition, The Street Urchin (see plate 1).

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Description: Self-Portrait by Mancini, Antonio

FIG. 46 Self-Portrait, 1868.

1870

Occupies a studio in the former convent of S. Andrea delle Monache with Gemito and other young artists.

1871

Meets Count Albert Cahen d’Anvers, who becomes a devoted patron and promoter of the artist.

Wins first prize in figure drawing at the Istituto di Belle Arti for his drawing on the biblical theme of “Clothe the Naked.”

1872

Participates in Paris Salon for the first time; exhibits Dernier sommeil and L’enfant allant a l’école.

Goes to Venice in May as the guest of Cahen; studies Old Master paintings while he is there. Visits Milan and the Brera Gallery on his return trip home.

1873

To avoid military service, Mancini uses money provided by Cahen to send a substitute in his place.

Spends August and September on the island of Ischia with Gemito.

Visits Milan where he exhibits two paintings at the Esposizione d’Arte Contemporanea at the Palazzo di Brera.

1874

Joins other Neapolitan artists in paying homage to Spanish painter Mariano Fortuny, who visits nearby Portici from July to November. Upon leaving, Fortuny takes with him Mancini’s Saltimbanco After the Performance (plate 6).

Makes the acquaintance of the French writer Paul Bourget.

1875

Visits Paris as the guest of Cahen from May to September, and enters into a contract with the Goupil gallery to sup ply them with paintings while residing at home in Naples.

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Description: Antonio Mancini in Paris by Unknown

FIG. 47 Mancini in Paris, 1875.

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FIG. 48 Self-Portrait, watercolor, inscribed “Paris.”

1876

Discouraged and disconnected, requests readmission as a student at the Istituto di Belle Arti in July.

Exhibits Le petit écolier (see fig. 6) at the Paris Salon.

1877

Begins work in Naples on The Saltimbanco (see plate 13), using his favorite model Luigiello Gianchetti.

Commences a second visit to Paris with Gemito in March. With the help of Giuseppe De Nittis, he makes the acquaintance of numerous Parisian artists and critics.

Exhibits The Saltimbanco as Le petit saltimbanque at the Paris Salon.

1878

Exhibits La fête de St. Janvier, dans un maison de Naples (now known as The Vow; see fig. 8) at the Paris Salon and five works at the Paris Exposition Universelle.

Experiencing physical and mental crises, Mancini returns precipitously to Naples in May.

1880

Resumes work in Naples destitute, demoralized; shows increasing signs of mental instability. Responding to his plight, students petition the Istituto di Belle Arti for help.

His companion, a model named Mariuccia, figures in numerous paintings.

1881

Enters a mental hospital in October, first the Manicomio Provinciale di Napoli and then the Manicomio of S. Francesco di Sales alla Salita Salvator Rosa. During his hospital stay, he continues to paint.

1882

Pronounced “cured” and released from the mental hospital in February, after which he decides to leave Naples and move to Rome. He asserts his new identity by signing works for a while “Antonio Mancini di Roma.”

1883

Wins a medal at the exhibition of the Promotrice di Belle Arti di Napoli for Girl Praying (see fig. 25).

Granted a small monthly stipend from the Istituto di Belle Arti in Naples.

Begins to experiment for the first time with the graticola, a wood-framed grid of threads or wires to aid in his painting.

Meets the Marquis Giorgio Capranica del Grillo, an aristocratic retainer in the Italian royal court and amateur painter, who becomes Mancini’s friend and protector.

1884

Makes contact with expatriate family of Daniel Curtis in Venice, probably with the help of John Singer Sargent, leading to the first of many portrait commissions from American clients.

1885

Sends a request for help to the Dutch painter Hendrik Willem Mesdag, who agrees to subsidize Mancini’s work; the arrangement extends over decades and results in the acquisition of scores of paintings. Mesdag sends three of Mancini’s works to be exhibited in the second exhibition of Les XX in Brussels.

1886

Becomes gravely ill, reportedly with typhus, while living with the family of his uncle, Andrea Ruggeri; in May he is mistakenly reported by some journals to have died.

1887

Visits Venice as guest of the Curtises while exhibiting Ritratto and Carnevale at the Esposizione Nazionale.

1892

Toward the end of the year, Domenica Mancini dies in Naples with the artist in attendance; after a year or two, his father moves to Rome to live with Mancini, becoming one of his favorite models.

1893

Dutch painter John J. Jacobson, sent by Mesdag, arrives in Rome to visit and work alongside Mancini, who is living in squalid disorder.

1895

Visits Venice where he paints the portrait of John Gardner, husband of Isabella Stewart Gardner.

Exhibits two paintings—Ragazzo romano and Ophelia—at the first Venice Biennale.

1897

Represented in the second Venice Biennale with works from Mesdag’s collection and shares the 1600 lire prize with sculptor Giuseppe Romagnoli.

In October Mesdag sponsors an exhibition of thirty-eight of Mancini’s paintings at Pulchri Studio in The Hague.

1898

Mesdag continues sponsorship of exhibitions in the United States, Scotland, Belgium, and Holland.

Exhibits at Turin, Vienna, and St. Petersburg.

1899

Exhibits seventeen works at the art club “Pictura,” in Dordrecht, Holland.

1900

Wins a medal at the Paris Exposition for Signora Pantaleoni (plate 33).

1901

Departs for England on June 15, passing through Paris on the way to London, where he resides at the Hotel Piemonte in Soho. Claude Ponsonby, acting as host and guide, commissions a portrait of his son, Harold.

Mancini spends a prolonged working visit during October and November at Selaby Park in Darlington, country home of his principal sponsor Mary Hunter, a noted patron and confidante of Sargent. Creates portraits of many members of the Hunter family.

1902

Visits Temple, the country estate of art dealer Asher Wertheimer, and executes portraits of members of the Wertheimer family. During this stay, Sargent paints an impromptu portrait of Mancini.

Submits four portraits for the Royal Academy exhibition in London; only one is accepted, causing him great bitterness.

During July and August, forty-seven works are exhibited at Pulchri Studio in The Hague.

Returns to Italy in the fall, stopping in Ghiffa on Lake Maggiore, Piacenza, Parma, and Modena before reaching Rome.

1904

Wins gold medal at the the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, Missouri, for Marquis Giorgio Capranica del Grillo.

1905

Signora Pantaleoni awarded a gold medal in Munich.

City of Venice acquires a portrait of Paolo Mancini from the sixth Biennale exhibition.

1906

Paints a portrait of Sir Hugh Lane (plate 40), who becomes an enthusiastic admirer and patron.

1907

Creates portrait of future patron Baron Otto Messinger.

Departs in late summer on a second journey to England.

Travels from England to Dublin in September.

Returns to London in the winter, and paints a series of three large works typified by Al Mio Signore.

Exhibits eight works at the Venice Biennale, seven of which are borrowed from Mesdag’s collection.

1908

Returns to Rome from London by July.

Spends summer in Terracina as guest of dealer Giuseppe (Peppino) Giosi.

Accepts an agreement for support from Baron Otto Messinger, who influences the artist to paint historicizing costume subjects.

1910

Spends several winter months in Munich a guest of Messinger, and also visits Nuremberg, Cologne, and Berlin.

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Description: Antonio Mancini in Berlin by Unknown

FIG. 49 Mancini in Berlin, 1910.

1911

Messinger exhibits his collection, including eleven works by Mancini, in Munich. On his return home from Germany, Mancini visits Holland.

Exhibits eight works at the Esposizione Internazionale in Rome and wins a share of the prize funds.

Paolo Mancini dies.

Becomes acquainted with Fernand du Chêne de Vère, who contracts to buy all of the artist’s new output.

1912

Moves to Frascati, where he lives in the Villa Jacobini and uses materials placed at his disposal by Fernand du Chêne de Vère. Remains there to live and work in relative isolation for the next six years.

1913

Voted a member by merit of Rome’s Accademia di San Luca.

1914

Visits Venice in May, and exhibits eight works at the Biennale.

The Seamstress (plate 42) wins the Müller prize at Rome’s “Secessione” exhibition.

1918

Du Chêne de Vère holds an exhibition of Mancini’s work created during the preceding years. The artist terminates his contract with du Chêne de Vère, and returns to Rome to live with his brother Giovanni and his family.

1920

With the artist’s nephew, Alfredo, managing Mancini’s business dealings, the Venice Biennale grants him an entire gallery containing twenty-one works; the majority of which are sold as a block to a syndicate of art dealers.

1921

Exhibits seven paintings at the first Rome Biennale.

Occupies an entire gallery at the Naples Biennale.

Exhibits more than sixty works at the Circolo d’ Arte e d’ Alta Cultura in Milan.

1922

Exhibits eight works at the Venice Biennale.

Spends the summer months at Minori, on the Amalfi Coast, painting landscapes.

1923

Paints landscapes at Formia.

Has a personal gallery at the Rome Biennale.

Visits Naples as guest of longtime friend Giuseppe Casciaro and is made an honorary citizen of the city.

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Description: Antonio Mancini (left) with Giuseppe Casciaro and Vincenzo Gemito at the Villa...

FIG. 50 Mancini (left) with Giuseppe Casciaro and Vincenzo Gemito at the Villa Casciaro, c. 1925

1924

Exhibits eight works at the Venice Biennale.

1926

Moves with his family to a villa with studio on the Aventine Hill.

1927

Retrospective of sixty works held at Augusteo di Roma.

Exhibits works in the Villa Pignatelli in Frascati.

1928

Exhibits thirty-seven works at the Castello Sforzesco in Milan.

Exhibits oils and pastels at the Knoedler Gallery in London.

1929

Named Accademico d’Italia.

1930

Dies on December 28 after a short illness.

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