Felice Giani was an Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 painter of the Neoclassic

Neoclassicism

Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...

 style. His grand manner subjects often included Greco-Roman allusions or themes.

Born in San Sebastiano Curone

San Sebastiano Curone

San Sebastiano Curone is a comune in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 110 km southeast of Turin and about 40 km southeast of Alessandria, at the confluence of the Curone and Museglia streams.San Sebastiano Curone borders the following...

 near Alessandria, he moved to Pavia

Pavia

Pavia , the ancient Ticinum, is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 35 km south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It is the capital of the province of Pavia. It has a population of c. 71,000...

 and then to Bologna

Bologna

Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...

 (1778) where he entered the studio of Gaetano and Ubaldo Gandolfi

Ubaldo Gandolfi

Ubaldo Gandolfi was an Italian painter of the late-Baroque period, mainly active in and near Bologna.He was born in San Matteo della Decima and enrolled by the age of 17 at the Clementine Academy, where he apprenticed with Ercole Graziani the Younger, Felice Torelli, and Ercole Lelli...

. He soon moved to Rome and found work in the decoration of the Palazzo Altieri

Palazzo Altieri

thumb|300 px|The Palazzo AltieriPalazzo Altieri is a palace in Rome, which was the home of the Altieri family in the city. The palace faces the square in front of the Church of the Gesù.-The Altieri:...

. Between 1780 and 1786, he worked in various studios in Rome, under, for example, Pompeo Batoni

Pompeo Batoni

Pompeo Girolamo Batoni was an Italian painter whose style incorporated elements of the French Rococo, Bolognese classicism, and nascent Neoclassicism.-Biography:He was born in Lucca, the son of a goldsmith, Paolino Batoni...

 and Angelica Kauffmann

Angelica Kauffmann

Maria Anna Angelika/Angelica Katharina Kauffman was a Swiss-Austrian Neoclassical painter. Kauffman is the preferred spelling of her name; it is the form she herself used most in signing her correspondence, documents and paintings.- Early years :She was born at Chur in Graubünden, Switzerland,...

. He then returned north to work in Faenza

Faenza

Faenza is an Italian city and comune, in the province of Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, situated 50 km southeast of Bologna.Faenza is noted for its manufacture of majolica ware glazed earthenware pottery, known from the name of the town as "faience"....

, where he worked with the quadratura painter Serafino Barozzi, and with Giovanni Battista Ballanti

Giovanni Battista Ballanti

Giovanni Battista Ballanti , also known as Giovan Battista Ballanti Graziani, was an Italian sculptor working in the Neoclassic style....

. In Faenza he was involved in a prolific series of projects including the fresco decoration of the Laderchi, Naldi and Milzetti Palaces. The latter is considered his masterpiece. In Bologna, he decorated the Palazzi Aldini, Marescalchi, Lambertini Ranuzzi, and Baciocchi. In Rome, he worked in the palace of the Embassy of Spain, Palazzo Quirinale, and he also did work in Forlì

Forlì

Forlì is a comune and city in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, and is the capital of the province of Forlì-Cesena. The city is situated along the Via Emilia, to the right of the Montone river, and is an important agricultural centre...

, Ferrara

Ferrara

Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...

, Ravenna

Ravenna

Ravenna is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and the second largest comune in Italy by land area, although, at , it is little more than half the size of the largest comune, Rome...

 and Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

. He befriended the Napoleonic French leaders, and traveled to Paris where he painted frescos in the villa of the Secretary of State of the Kingdom of Italy.

In 1784, he won second prize in the painting competition of the Academy of Parma with a Samson and Delilah. In 1811, he joined the Accademia di San Luca

Accademia di San Luca

The Accademia di San Luca, was founded in 1577 as an association of artists in Rome, under the directorship of Federico Zuccari, with the purpose of elevating the work of "artists", which included painters, sculptors and architects, above that of mere craftsmen. Other founders included Girolamo...

 and in 1819, the Congregation of the Virtuosi of the Pantheon. He died after falling from his horse in Rome in 1823, and he is buried in the church of Sant'Andrea delle Fratte

Sant'Andrea delle Fratte

Sant'Andrea delle Fratte is a 17th-century basilica church in Rome, Italy, dedicated to St. Andrew. The Cardinal Priest of the Titulus S. Andreae Apostoli de Hortis is Ennio Antonelli....

.