GIOVANNI

SEGANTINI (1858-1899)  , Italian painter, was born at Arco in the Trentino on the 15th of June 1858 . His mother, who died in 1863, belonged to an old family of the mountain country . His father, who was a man of the people, went to Milan, whence he set forth with another son to seek his fortune, leaving Giovanni behind . At the age of seven the child ran away; he was found perishing of cold and hunger, and was obliged to earn his bread by keeping the flocks on the hills . He spent his long hours of solitude in drawing . Owing to his fame having reached the ears of a syndic, he was sent back to Milan; but, unable to endure domestic life, he soon escaped again, and led a wandering life till he met at Arco with his half-brother, who offered him the place of cashier in his provision shop . After more flights and more returns, Segantini remained at Milan to attend classes at the Brera, earning a living meanwhile by giving lessons and painting portraits . His first picture, " The Choir of Sant Antonio," was noticed for its powerful quality . After painting this, however, he shook himself free by degrees of academical teaching, as in his picture " The Ship." He subsequently painted The Falconer" and "The Dead Hero," and then settled in Brianza, near Como . There he gave himself up to the study of mountain life, and became in truth the painter of the Alps . At this time he painted the " Ave Maria," which took a gold medal at the Amsterdam Exhibition (1883), " Mothers," " After a Storm in the Alps," " A Kiss," and " Moonlight Effect." Deeply impressed by Millet, the artist nevertheless quickly strove to reassert his individuality, as may be seen in " The Drinking-place," which gained a gold medal in Paris (1889), "In the Sheep-fold,"" By the Spinning-wheel," and " Ploughing in the Engadine," for which he was awarded a gold medal at the Turin Exhibition (1892) . Besides those works in which he studied simple effects of light and Alpine scenery, such as " Midday on the Alps " and " Winter at Savognino," he also painted symbolical subjects: "The Punishment of Luxury," and the " Unnatural Mothers " (in the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool) .

Segantini died at Maloja in

October 1899 . An exhibition of his works was held in London, and afterwards at Brussels in 1899, and at Milan in 1900 .