A delightful performance

Cesare Auguste Detti prints bring the colour and charm of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century costume scenes into your home: cavaliers on white horses, musicians in gardens, flirtations at wells and grand receptions at court. Detti was an Italian painter who made his career in Paris, where the dealer Goupil sold his pictures and engravings across Europe and America. Our collection of fine art prints includes his historical genre scenes, portraits and outdoor gatherings.

About Cesare Auguste Detti

Cesare Agostino Detti was born in Spoleto on 28 November 1848. His father, an engineer and amateur painter, encouraged his interest in art. In 1861 he met the Roman painter Francesco Coghetti, then painting murals at Spoleto's Teatro Nuovo, who suggested he train at the Accademia di San Luca in Rome, where Coghetti taught. There he came under the influence of Marià Fortuny, who introduced him to the work of the Macchiaioli.

After his studies he travelled widely and spent several years in Naples, exhibiting there in 1872. In 1876 he visited Paris and met Adolphe Goupil, one of the leading dealers of the day, who agreed to show his work and to reproduce it as engravings. Detti settled in Paris, showed at the Salon from 1877, and in 1880 married Juliette-Émilie Filieuse.

In 1883 the family moved to Bourron-Marlotte near Fontainebleau, where he joined a group of independent landscape painters. He showed at the Exposition Universelle of 1889, as vice-president of the Italian committee, and won a silver medal at the 1900 Exposition. He later travelled in Latin America and the United States. Forced to return to Italy as a foreign national when war came in 1914, he hurried back to Paris to his sick son and died there on 19 May 1914.

Style and Subjects

Detti specialised in historical genre scenes set mainly in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, inspired by the Troubadour style. His cavaliers, ladies, musicians and courtiers wear bright silks, plumes and lace, painted with crisp detail and sparkling colour.

His scenes are light-hearted: music in a garden, a conversation at a well, a drawing lesson, a hunting party, a festive procession. They have the theatrical charm of a costume play.

Famous Works

• A Garden Party (1876), Stockport Heritage Services. An elegant outdoor gathering from the year he met Goupil.
• At the Fountain (1887), Art Institute of Chicago. Figures in historical costume gathered at a fountain.
• Music in the Garden. Musicians entertaining a group in a sunny garden.
• A Conversation at the Well. A flirtation at a village well.
• Refreshments at a Wayside Inn. Travellers in period dress stopping for a drink.
• Louis XV in the Throne Room. A grand scene at the French court.
• Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. Cervantes's knight and squire.

Decorating with Detti Prints

Detti's cheerful costume scenes suit dining rooms, living rooms and hallways, adding colour and a touch of theatre. His musical pictures, such as Music in the Garden or Music in the Parlor, are natural choices for a music room or sitting room.

His cavaliers and hunting scenes suit a study or den, and his small, detailed pictures look best in ornate gilt frames grouped together.

FAQ

Who was Cesare Auguste Detti?

Cesare Auguste Detti, born Cesare Agostino Detti, was an Italian painter who lived from 1848 to 1914. He worked mainly in Paris and is known for historical costume scenes.

What style did Detti paint in?

He painted historical genre scenes of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, inspired by the Troubadour style.

Who influenced Cesare Detti?

At the Accademia di San Luca in Rome he came under the influence of the Spanish painter Marià Fortuny, who also introduced him to the Macchiaioli.

How did Detti's work become popular?

The Paris dealer Adolphe Goupil exhibited his paintings and reproduced them as engravings for middle-class buyers across Europe and America.

Where can I see Detti's paintings?

Works are held in the Art Institute of Chicago and Stockport Heritage Services in England; many are in private collections.

Related Artists

• Mariano Fortuny Marsal: Spanish painter who influenced him in Rome
• Vittorio Reggianini: Italian painter of elegant costume scenes
• Federico Andreotti: Italian painter of costume genre scenes of the same era