Gennaro Befani (Italian, 1866-1949)

Jeunesse
oil on canvas, signed and inscribed lower right  "G. Befani Paris 1922"
Provenance: Exhibited Paris Salon 1922
Size: 51 ½ x 64 in (with frame 60 ½ x 74 in)
J17145

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The Italian genre and portrait painter Gennaro Vincenzo Giuseppe Befani Puccinelli was born in Naples on 17 November 1866. His uncle, Achille Formi Befani, was a respected landscape painter. Gennaro completed his first studies at the Institute of Fine Art in Naples under the artist Filippo Palizzi before moving to Milan where he was highly esteemed. He settled in Paris in 1899 where he led a successful career and lived for the remainder of his life. From 1904 he exhibited at the Paris Salon, with an honourable mention in 1909 and medal in 1911. His Post-Impressionistic paintings were exhibited and sold at the Salons in Paris, Turin, London, St. Petersburg and Venice. He was highly regarded for his technique of capturing of light, and his paintings were purchased by leading figures of the day including Baron Edmondo Rothschild. Befani was popular in French society and was also regarded as a very good musician. He had the distinction of becoming a Knight of the Legion of Honour, the highest French order of merit, in 1920. Gennaro Befani died at the age of eighty-two in Bagneux, just south of Paris.

Gennaro Befani exhibited widely including:

-1884 Turin Italian Exhibition

#146 The First Gift

-1888 London Italian Exhibition

#755 Cape Nenna

#779 Reminiscences of Naples

-1898 Turin National 50th Anniversary Exhibition

#1209 Portrait of a Hero

-1898 St. Petersburg Fine Italian Art Exhibition

#25 After the Duel

-1901 Paris Salon Society of French Artists 119th Fine Arts Exhibition

#135 Portrait of a Young Man

-1902 Paris Salon Society of French Artists 120th Fine Arts Exhibition

#94 Meditation

-1904 Paris Salon Society of French Artists 122nd Fine Arts Exhibition

#110 Portrait of Miss V.

-1905 Pairs Salon Society of French Artists 123rd Fine Arts Exhibition

#117 Courtyard of Masseria in Moret (France)

-1906 Paris Salon Society of French Artists 124th Fine Arts Exhibition

#120 After the Duel

-1907 Paris Salon Society of French Artists 125th Fine Arts Exhibition

#118 Young Girl of Bohemia

-1908 Paris Salon Society of French Artists 126th Fine Arts Exhibition

#111 The Beautiful Russian

-1909 Venice Eighth International Art Exhibition

#1 The Square of a Breton Village

-1909 Paris Salon Society of French Artists 127th Fine Arts Exhibition

#125 The Grandmother (Purchased by Baron Edmondo Rothschild)

#126 After the Rain (Awarded Honourable Mention)

-1910 Paris Salon Society of French Artists 128th Fine Arts Exhibition

#139 Leaving the Church in Loquirec (Brittany)

#140 Church Interior (Brittany – Awarded 3rd Class Medal)

-1911 Paris Salon Society of Fine Arts Exhibition 129th Fine Arts Exhibition

#121 The Bride