Nicola Antonio Facchinetti was an Italian born artist mostly reknown for his paintings about Brazilian landscapes. He actually moved and settled in Rio de Janeiro in 1849, where he worked as a set designer and a drawing teacher. His taste for painting will forge later in his life, as much a result of circumstances as a solid vocation. He had no apparent artistic training and essentially learned his art on his own.
Facchinetti's work shows a commitment to naturalism. He began working in portraiture but found neither success or personal satisfaction. So he moved to landscaping, first with stumbles, then relative gallantry, and finally with mastery. His paintings carry a nostalgia from immense expanses of virgin and natural spaces from Brazil, sometimes contrasting between the new houses and the lush nature of the surroundings.
« Before painting, he would go to the location, study the spot, scrutinising every detail. Then he would trace the motif separately, on an album page, on a sheet of paper, which he would slowly complete. Prepared with this exact drawing, he traced it onto the canvas, in charcoal, covered it with graphite and finished by fixing it with common ink, using a sharp steel pen. On one occasion, when I found this slow, meticulous process, which nullified emotion, strange, he replied that his interest was the truth, the more accurate, the more finished the copy, the greater the merit of his work...» Gonzaga Duque describing Facchinetti's working method
Facchinetti, with a lifetime dedication and unconditional love for nature, took with him a prominent place in the history of Brazilian landscaping.
Fazenda em Teresópolis (atribuído)
19th
A view of Rio de Janeiro from Barrio Cosme Velho
1885
Cascata do Itamaraty, Petrópolis
1869
Enseada de Paquetá com serra dos Órgãos ao fundo
19th
Recanto da Praia de Icaraí
1888
Enseada do Botafogo