Arnaldo De Lisio Biography
(Castelbottaccio, 1869 - Naples, 1949) Born in Castelbottaccio (CB); in 1883 he moved to Naples where, after classical studies, he attended the academy. At the age of twenty-one he went to Paris where he came into contact with the Impressionists. He returned to Naples in 1903 and remained here for the following twenty years, during which he married Alfonsina Di Mauro, who bore him numerous children (some of them followed in their father's footsteps); he works continuously, called to fresco sanctuaries, theaters, public buildings, also appreciated for his watercolours. In 1923 he was in Rome, where he painted, among others, the portrait of Matilde Serao. He returns to Naples after three years. The war forced him to move to his hometown with his entire family and he remained here until the end of the war. Without ever abandoning colours, he passed away in Naples in 1949, leaving some works unfinished. He was an eclectic: as well as a painter, he also tried his hand at sculpture and writing. The themes of his pictorial works are gradually drawn from the various stages of his life: thus in Paris in the works from 1901-1902 (Autumn in Paris, Sun in Paris, Parisian Café, Boulevard Bonnes Nouvelles, etc.). The Gulf of Naples, Vesuvius, Posillipo, Mergellina, Pompeii, are themes present in many works from 1923 to the end of the thirties; landscapes of Molise and Abruzzo in the works of the 1930s. The portraits accompany him throughout his life; there is no shortage of still lifes.
