Vito D'Anna (14 October 1718 – 13 October 1769) was an Italian painter, considered the most prominent painter of Palermitan rococo and one of the most important artists of Sicily.
Biography He was the father of Alessandro D'Anna, the brother-in-law of Francesco Sozzi, and the son-in-law of Olivio Sozzi.
He studied in Acireale under Pietro Paolo Vasta from 1736 to 1744, when he returned to Palermo. In Acireale, he had painted Portrait of the Provost Gambino.The portrait of Gambino is found in the sacristy of the Acireale Cathedral Returning to Palermo, Vito married the daughter of the Catanese painter Olivio Sozzi. Sozzi helped arrange D'Anna to work with the circle of an aged Corrado Giaquinto in Rome.
D'Anna frescoed a number of palaces, and the churches of San Sebastiano, San Matteo and del Salvatore in Palermo. Among his works were: his fresco of the Madonna dei Raccomandati in the church of the same name, his Nativity in the church della Grotta, Self-portrait in the Pinacoteca Zelantea. Galleria Zelantea, notes on arts in Acireale. His nephew, Giuseppe Patania, was also a painter.
Works
Apotheosis of St. Dominic or Gloria dei santi domenicani, 1751, frescos of the dome, church Santa Caterina, Palermo. The Triumph of Minerva, 1751, fresco, Palazzo Benenati Ventimiglia, Palermo. Allegory of Virtues, 1751, frescos, Palazzo Benenati Ventimiglia, Palermo. Il Trionfo dei Re Magi, 1751–52, fresco, Chiasa dei Tre Re, Palermo. Trinità, oil on wood, Palazzo Abatellis, Palermo. Apotheosis of Palermo, 1760, fresco of the ballroom, Palazzo Isnello, Palermo. Allegory of Political Virtues, 1762, fresco of the ballroom, Palazzo Alliata di Pietratagliata, Palermo.Storia di Palazzo Alliata di Pietratagliata . Retrieved 1 September 2010. Glory of the Princes of Resuttana, 1762, fresco of the ballroom, Villa Resuttana, Palermo. Glory of St. Basil, 1763–65, frescos, church of Santissimo Salvatore, Palermo.
Honors In 1762 he was elected a member of the Academy of Saint Luke In 1765 he was named Count palatine In 1765 he became a Knight of the Order of the Golden Spur
See also Apotheosis of Palermo Sicilian Baroque Rococo
References
Bibliography Agostino Gallo, manuscript, 19th century. Renato Roli, Giancarlo Sestieri. I disegni italiani del Settecento. Treviso, Canova Edizioni, 1982. Dizionario biografico degli italiani, 32nd issue. Rome, Enciclopedia Italiana, 1986.M. G. Paolini. Vito D'Anna – Biography at the Enciclopedia Italiana. Retrieved 1 September 2010. Citti Siracusano, La pittura del Settecento in Sicilia. Rome, De Luca, 1986. Giuliano Briganti (editor). La Pittura in Italia. Il Settecento, volume 2. Milan, Electa, 1990. Sergio Troisi, Vito D'Anna. Palermo, «Kalos», issue 4, July/August, 1993. Giulia Sommariva. Palazzi nobiliari di Palermo. Palermo, Dario Flaccovio, 2004. Mariny Guttilla. Mirabile artificio. Pittura religiosa in Sicilia dal XV al XIX secolo. Palermo, Kalos, 2006. Mariny Guttilla (editor). Cantieri decorativi a Palermo dal tardo barocco alle soglie del neoclassicismo, in Il Settecento e il suo doppio.Il Settecento e il suo doppio. Table of contents . Central Institute for restoration and preservation of books – OPAC. Retrieved 1 September 2010. Palermo, Kalós, 2008, p. 177–206.
Notes
External links
Vito D'Anna. Biographical Archive of Palermo.