Francesco Podesti Biography
Francesco Podesti was born in 1800 in Ancona, into a Ligurian family that had moved to Ancona. After his father's death, Podesti's family fell into disgrace, but thanks to the help of a clergyman from Ancona, Francesco obtained a subsidy to move to Rome, where he began to attend the Accademia di San Luca. He specialized in mythological, allegorical, sacred and historical subjects, obtaining numerous academic prizes and recognitions. In 1826, after finishing his studies at the Accademia di San Luca, he undertook a long journey to Italy to study the great masters of the past. Podesti was a very prolific painter, he created numerous oils, frescoes and portraits of great value, especially intended for foreign collectors. Furthermore, he also had an important role as a teacher, holding several lessons at the Accademia di San Luca, which were later collected in the "Giornale Arcadico". In these lessons, the painter expressed his conception of beauty, closely linked to the manifestation of natural beauty. Francesco Podesti died in Rome in 1895, at the age of ninety-five.
