Alessandro Zezzos (1848-1914) - Luce in Cattedrale

Alessandro Zezzos (Venice, February 12, 1848 – Vittorio Veneto, 1914) Light in the Cathedral
dimensions with frame 70x48 cm.
private collection
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Born in Venice to a Venetian mother and a Greek father[1], after completing his classical studies, he attended the Academy of Fine Arts of Venice, where he also followed the courses of Pompeo Molmenti. His fellow students at the academy included, among others, Alessandro Milesi, Bartolomeo Bezzi, Guglielmo Ciardi, Antonio Dal Zotto, Pietro Fragiacomo, Emilio Marsili, Augusto Sezanne, Ettore Tito, Luigi Nono and Giacomo Favretto.

Influenced by the latter, with whom he was a great friend, he dedicated himself to Venetian scenes with eighteenth-century settings, specializing above all in watercolour[3].

The artist began to become known in 1871, when Molmenti wrote for L'arte in Italia an article praising the talent of the three young Venetian painters Federico Zandomeneghi, Guglielmo Ciardi and Alessandro Zezzos[4].

In 1873 he exhibited in Venice the paintings Scena famigliare and Né sposo né figlio; in 1877, in Paris, I saltimbanchi and I piccioni di San Marco[5].

In 1892 he did the illustrations for The Grand Canal, a chapter of Henry James's travel notebook Ore italiane (Italian Hours).

He worked mainly in his hometown, but after the death of his wife, in 1904, he began to travel abroad, staying in London, Berlin, Vienna and Paris, where he remained until 1910[6].

In 1907, during his brief period in Venice, Umberto Boccioni came into contact with Zezzos who instilled in him an interest in etchings[7].