Sebastiano De Albertis Biography
Sebastiano De Albertis (Milan, 1828 – Milan, 29 November 1897) was an Italian painter. A student of the Brera Academy of Fine Arts, he simultaneously attended the studies of the history painter Roberto Focosi and Domenico and Gerolamo Induno. His presence at the Brera Fine Arts Exhibitions, with historical subjects of civil commitment, was initially discontinuous due to his participation as a volunteer in the Risorgimento uprisings and the wars of independence. Since 1855 he dedicated himself to the military-patriotic genre with a rich repertoire of battles, replicated in different variations, which progressively became his specialization. Upon his return to Milan he joined the "Società della Confusion", with Tranquillo Cremona and Eleuterio Pagliano, later institutionalized as the "Circolo degli Artisti" in 1875. The first evidence dates back to this cultural climate gravitating around the Scapigliatura movement. to watercolor and the artist's more disengaged production, characterized by themes of customs and contemporary life, including the famous horse races. Following the premature death of his only son, Enrico, in 1874 there was a return to patriotic painting with a strong civil value. In 1880 he painted The Charge of Pastrengo (30 April 1848) exhibited at the Historical Museum of the Carabinieri. Awarded with numerous official awards, in 1884 he joined the Commission for the establishment of the Risorgimento Museum in Milan. In 1887 he painted Military Scene exhibited at the Museo Cantonale d'Arte in Lugano. In 1896, shortly before his death, he painted the standing portrait of Cavaliere Francesco Ponti (1832-1895) for the art collections of the Ospedale Maggiore in Milan.
