Costa, Giovanni Battista |
| PAINTER (ITALY) |
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BORN c18 May 1833, Livorno, Toscana - DIED 6 Dec 1893, Firenze, Toscana GRAVE LOCATION Antella, Firenze, Toscana: Cimitero Monumentale della Misericordia di Santa Maria, Via di Montisoni |
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Giovanni Costa was the son of Giuseppe Larco and his wife Terese. He studied under Giuseppe Baldini (1807-1876), who was also the first teacher of Giovanni Fattori. In Pisa he copied the frescoes painted by Gozzoli before in 1858 he continued his studies at the Art Academy in Florence under Enrico Pollastrini. Around this time he created "The transport of Santa Caterina d'Alessandria" for the Santa Maria del Soccorso church in Livorno. In 1860 he made "Jeremiah on the ruins of Sion", now in the Palace Pitti in Florence. In 1863 he exhibited "Gli Amori degli angioli..." that was inspired by a poem of Thomas Moore. Around 1870 he abandoned religious subjects and concentrated on landscape painting. "The Florist" was presented at the Universal Exhibition in Vienna in 1873. In 1875 he was invited by the Japanese government to start an art school in Tokyo together with G. Castellazzi and G. Panagucci. The artists didn't accept the offer. His "Costume dell’Impero" was described as a contemporary portrait of empress Joséphine de Beauharnais. In 1888 he exhibited several paintings in Germany. He died in 1893 in Florence after a long illness. Related persons • was pupil of Pollastrini, Enrico |
| Images |
 The grave of Giovanni Costa at the Cimitero Monumentale della Misericordia di Santa Maria, Antella. Picture by Androom (20 Feb 2018) |
