Giuseppe De Nittis was born in Barletta (Puglia), on February 25, 1846, from a family of wealthy landowners who died prematurely, however, so Giuseppe was educated by his grandparents. Restless and rebellious, he soon showed a great intolerance towards teaching methods and artistic styles that he considered outdated and, after two years, was expelled.
Always in search of a personal style, Giuseppe de Nittis moved to Paris which at that time was a real hotbed of new pictorial and cultural ferments. Among the favorite subjects of Giuseppe de Nittis, women occupy a privileged place, portrayed in the places where the life of that dynamic and growing society takes place, in large parks, along promenades, at races, in living rooms, in the rooms of the rich bourgeois residences.
De Nittis died in Saint-Germain-en-Laye on 21 August 1884, at the age of only 38, struck down by a cerebral congestion, leaving an extraordinary memory in those who knew him and an immense artistic heritage.
