The painter Giovanni Carnovali, who was nicknamed “Il Piccio,” was an artist of the nineteenth century and belonged to the Lombard Romantic art period. He was born in Montegrino Valtravaglia in the year 1804. He displayed his artistic skills from an early age and was admitted at the young age of eleven to the Accademia Carrara of Bergamo. Here, he got himself trained by a painter called Giuseppe Diotti. Carnovali’s style of painting is different from other artists’ styles, since it does not adhere to academicism. The paintings by Carnovali are known for their soft colouring, gentle lighting, free use of brushes and vague outlining. He had travelled extensively and gone to places like Rome and Parma to study the works of master painters before him, including Raphael, Correggio, and Parmigianino. Carnovali mostly painted portraits, religious topics, landscapes, and mythologies. Though Carnovali’s unorthodox style could not get full appreciation among his contemporaries, he later made significant contributions to the formation of the Scapigliatura movement.
Early Life
Giovanni Carnovali, who was also known as “Il Piccio,” was born on 29th of September, 1804, in Montegrino Valtravaglia, which is close to Luino in Italy. The artist was born into an ordinary family, and his father was a mason. It is noteworthy that the childhood of the artist coincided with his family moving to Albino near Bergamo to find employment under the Spini family. The artist was always inclined towards drawing and painting, and his talent did not go unnoticed by Count Giovanni Spini, who understood the potential of Carnovali. Due to such patronage, the artist was able to study at the Accademia Carrara in Bergamo, thanks to his connection with the prominent painter Giuseppe Diotti. In fact, it was at the age of eleven when Carnovali joined the Accademia Carrara.The reason behind the nickname Il Piccio, which means “little one” was that of his small stature among the other fellow students. The education that he received at a young age allowed him to have a solid base in terms of painting and drawing, however, he eventually found a unique style which did not adhere to the usual academic standards of painting. Such experiences during his youth played a crucial role in his career as an artist, using his signature soft colors and atmospheric effects.
Education
Giovanni Carnovali, nicknamed “Il Piccio,” had his formal artistic training at the Accademia Carrara in Bergamo, which was where he learned from the painter Giuseppe Diotti. He enrolled in the academy in 1815 at the young age of eleven; he had joined the academy at an early age compared to the standard age of admission due to his unique talent. In his time at the academy, Carnovali acquired a good base in drawing, figure painting, and academic painting. He also learned from the valuable artwork that was held at the academy, especially those of earlier Italian painters.
During his time in school, Carnovali was successful and managed to win various awards. In the end, he was given access to the study of figures and nudes in advanced courses. It is evident from his first pieces that he started off with the characteristics of academic and Neoclassical paintings. Nevertheless, over time he started creating his own unique approach to painting. For instance, he became increasingly interested in the play of colors, light, atmosphere, and brushstrokes rather than the clear contours of the paintings. Carnovali’s education also acquainted him with many artists who would later affect his art such as Andrea Appiani, Bernardino Luini, and others.
It is thus clear that the education Carnovali had at the Accademia Carrara played a crucial role in his artistic life. Even though he initially worked in the framework of academicism, in the end he moved beyond its borders and created a soft and atmospheric style of art.
Artistic Journey
However, the development of Giovanni Carnovali as an artist changed from the classic academic style to a more individualistic one. Being a student of the Academy Carrara under the supervision of Giuseppe Diotti, he started receiving orders for portraits and religious painting. His early works were made in an academic manner, yet gradually Carnovali became more interested in color, atmosphere and the possibilities offered by loose brushstrokes. Traveling also affected his artistic development. From the age of twenty-seven he started travelling across different cities of Italy to get inspired by works of masters that lived before. Rome played a special role in Carnovali’s development as an artist since there he got the chance to see the works of Raphael. Carnovali also traveled to Parma where he studied the paintings of Correggio and Parmigianino and was inspired by their use of colors and light and soft shapes.
By 1836, Carnovali had moved to Milan, and it is there that he painted portraits, religious themes, landscapes, and historical/mythological subjects. The strokes of his brush were getting looser, and he started using patches of color instead of definite shapes. This distinctive technique made Carnovali a highly influential and unique artist of 19th-century Lombardy, who inspired the emergence of Scapigliatura.
Themes
One of the most distinctive features of Giovanni Carnovali, nicknamed “Il Piccio,” was that he investigated a variety of topics during his lifetime; however, he always expressed his passion for emotional atmosphere in his paintings. For instance, one of the central topics in the works of Carnovali is history painting. While some academics concentrated primarily on creating idealized characters and compositions, the artist aimed at making the figures depicted in his works historically convincing. Thus, Carnovali focused on portraying their emotions, feelings, and psychology, rather than events. This theme could be seen even in his religious and mythological works, where he depicted his figures as emotionally vivid personalities, allowing viewers to have a personal experience of the depicted scene.
Portraiture was another central topic in the artist’s works. In particular, he depicted numerous personalities from Bergamo and Cremona, being interested in painting his friends and acquaintances. However, Carnovali did not limit himself to creating merely realistic images of them. Using subtle changes in lighting, colors, and facial expressions, he tried to capture the character of the person depicted.
Carnovali also painted landscape and natural atmospheres by the use of color and lighting to achieve a more gentle connection between figures and the setting. It was especially crucial for Carnovali to develop a way to paint without strong outlines. The Museo Diotti notes that it is an important precursor to Scapigliatura style of painting, particularly due to the absence of strong outlines and vaporous effects.
In summary, the main theme in Carnovali’s paintings was his aspiration to go beyond the usual academic conventions and paint with emotions, atmospheres, psychology, and softness.