Carlo Pellegrini (caricaturist)
Carlo Pellegrini | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | January 22, 1889 | (aged 49)
Style | caricature |
Carlo Pellegrini (25 March 1839 – 22 January 1889), who did much of his work under the pseudonym of Ape, was an Italian artist who served from 1869 to 1889 as a
Early life
Pellegrini was born in
Deciding to leave Italy in 1864 after a series of personal crises, including the death of his sister, he travelled to England via Switzerland and France. He arrived in London in November 1864; he later claimed to have arrived destitute, and to have slept on the streets and in doorways. However, this claim may have been another fantasy designed to make him seem to be a
Work for Vanity Fair
Apart from drawing his caricatures for the magazine, Pellegrini also attempted to set himself up as a portrait painter, but this venture met with limited success. Pellegrini met
Pellegrini was a member of the Beefsteak Club in London and there met Whistler, who became a great influence on his work; indeed, he even attempted to paint portraits in the style of Whistler. Pellegrini was also a member of The Arts Club from 1874 until 1888.
Pellegrini was extremely careful about his appearance, and would wear immaculate white spats with highly polished boots. He grew long Mandarin-like fingernails, would never walk when he could ride, and had a limitless fund of amusing stories and eccentricities. He spoke broken-English, flaunted his homosexuality (at a time when it was dangerous to do so), and would often bring macaroni dishes to elegant dinner parties. He would refuse invitations to country houses out of fear of strange beds, and had a habit of keeping a cigar in his mouth as he slept.[2]
He died of lung disease aged 49 at his home, 53 Mortimer Street, near
See also
- Vanity Fair caricatures
Gallery
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A unique statuette in terracotta by Pellegrini ofRobert Lowedated 1873
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William Thomson, Archbishop of York
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Pellegrini by Sir Henry Thompson
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PF Shelley, "The poet's son"
References
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Some of his caricatures at the National Portrait Gallery
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Wood, James, ed. (1907). The Nuttall Encyclopædia. London and New York: Frederick Warne. {{cite encyclopedia}}
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