Antonio Ambrogio Alciati

Antonio Ambrogio Alciati (born September 5, 1878, in Vercelli – died March 7, 1929, in Milan) was an Italian painter, particularly renowned for his portraits. Alciati began his artistic studies at the Institute of Fine Arts in Vercelli and, in 1887, moved to Milan to continue his education at the Academy of Fine Arts of Brera. There, he studied under Vespasiano Bignami and Cesare Tallone, later succeeding Tallone as the professor of figure drawing in 1920. Alciati made a name for himself primarily as a portraitist, his work showing influences from Tranquillo Cremona in his handling of color and from Giovanni Boldini in his depictions of the elegance and fluidity of female figures. His portraits can be found in collections such as the Galleria d’Arte Moderna in Milan and Rome. One of his notable works is the 1917 portrait of Javotte Bocconi Manca di Villahermosa, which is now held at Bocconi University. In addition to his portraiture, Alciati created frescoes for the Villa Pirotta in Brunate (Como) and several churches in Lombardy. Among his most prominent students were Cristoforo De Amicis, Angelo Del Bon, Francesco De Rocchi, Virginio Ghiringhelli, Umberto Lilloni, Gino Meloni, Giuseppe Novello, Adriano Spilimbergo, Guido Tallone, Gianfilippo Usellini, and Ezio Moioli. Alciati was also involved in Freemasonry, having been initiated on September 1, 1914, into the Galileo Ferraris Lodge in Vercelli, part of the Grand Orient of Italy. He reached the rank of Master on November 21, 1922. He is buried in the Monumental Cemetery of Milan, in the Rialzato AB section of the cemetery, tomb 145.