Rocco Lentini

Place: Palermo

Born: 1858

Death: 1943

Biography:

Rocco Lentini was born in Palermo, Italy in 1858 and died in Venice, Italy in 1943. He was an Italian painter, noted for directing the team responsible for the ceiling decorations of the Teatro Massimo in Palermo. He studied at Bologna and Paris, and exhibited in the Paris Salon of 1879 and in the 1878 Promotrice of Turin. He painted Genre and landscapes in watercolor and tempera, and also studied scenography. His landscapes feature vistas and places in Sicily, and he also painted historical canvases, including The disembarkation of Garibaldi at Marsala. In the late 1880s, he was commissioned to paint frescoes for the Villa Malfitano Whitaker in Palermo. He led a team of artists responsible for the ceiling decoration of the Teatro Massimo of Palermo between 1893 and 1897. He won a stipend to attend the Brera Academy in 1884 and stayed in Milan for some years. He returned to teach and paint in Palermo. He published two educational books Elementi di Ornato (1892) and Elementi di Paesaggio. In 1911, in collaboration with Ernesto Basile, he published the book titled Le sculture e gli stucchi di Giacomo Serpotta. He organized and exhibited the Mostra Siciliana di Pittura, Scultura, Bianco e nero, held at Villa Gallidoro. He was editor and owner of the monthly journal 'La Sicilia Artistica e Archeologica'. He traveled frequently to Germany, North Italy, and Venice, participating in two Biennali, 1905 and 1922. In the 1930s, he carried out restoration work on the Moorish Palazzo Cuba of Palermo.