Melchiorre Delfico (caricaturist)
Encyclopedia
Baron Melchiorre De Filippis Delfico (1825 in Teramo
, Italy – 22 December 1895 in
Portsmouth
, England
) was an artist, composer, singer, conductor
, writer, librettist
and a master of the Neapolitan
art of caricature
who inspired, among others, Carlo Pellegrini
.
Melchiorre Delfico, the 'Prince of Caricaturists', is best remembered today for his caricature
s of notable personalities, both in his native Italy
and later in England
, where he worked under the name 'Delfico' for Vanity Fair, a society magazine. Among the many characters portrayed by Delfico's agile and ironic pen were emperors, nobles and prelates, artists and critics from the world of opera and theatre, and above all his great friend Giuseppe Verdi
, who knew him as a musician but who also enjoyed his caricatures.
family from Teramo
in Italy
. In his autobiography
, Delfico says that as a child he was taught the Liberal Arts, learning Music from the age of seven. Also according to the autobiography, in 1835, then 10 years, he discovered a "penchant for caricature." In 1839, at age 14, he commenced the formal study of Art in Teramo under Pasquale Della Monica.
In 1841, aged 16, Delfico moved to Naples
to commence his studies in the Humanities under the guidance of the renowned professor and Latin poet Antonio Mirabelli. At this time the young Delfico began writing poetry and painting, but his great love was music. In 1844 he composed his first musical work, The Jailer of 1793, to a libretto by Domenico Bolognese. In the summer of 1845 this was staged at the Teatro Nuovo. In 1847 Delfico's father died.
According to his autobiography, from 1847 Delfico had already begun to sell his cartoons, often receiving a request from a client who wished to be caricatured. But at this time caricature was still a hobby for Delfico, and probably the idea of turning it into an opportunity to earn a living pulled against his aristocratic upbringing, despite the fact that he actually needed the money to support himself. He published his first printed caricature in 1855 in an Italian pictorial publication named Omnibus, founded by the journalist
and critic Vincenzo Torelli. Delfico composed and staged two further plays at this time, The Husband of One Hour in 1850, and The Board of Recruiters of 1853.
Delfico first met the composer Giuseppe Verdi
in 1857 when he visited Naples for the staging of Simon Boccanegra
. Delfico's uncle, Baron Genovese, was a passionate music lover, a good singer and a great friend of Verdi's, and he presented his nephew to the composer; from that meeting onwards Delfico became a close friend of Verdi's, immortalizing him in cartoons and caricatures. The 1860s and 1870s were a period of great artistic creativity for Delfico, who published many caricatures and albums of caricatures. It is claimed that in the 1860s he moved to London
and worked for Punch
magazine, but no evidence has been found to support this claim. Delfico produced caricatures for Vanity Fair, a British society magazine, in the early 1870s. However, later in the 1870s his interest in caricature decreased, and he returned to a professional career in music as a conductor, and at one time appeared as a tenor to save a musical season that had been threatened with ruin. During this period he wrote the libretto and score for two comic operas, The Master Bombardone (1870) and The Return to Paris After the War (1872), as well as two musicals, The Fair and The Lightning (1876), his last musical work.
Delfico's biographers tell us that during his later years his life was marked by a deep melancholy and infinite sadness following the death in September 1884 of his eldest son John in his early twenties, and his daughter Bianca aged just eight years, both to the cholera
which scourged Naples
at that time. In December 1889 his young wife Concetta Sposito also died, leaving him with a brood of children, some of whom were still quite young. A document of the Royal Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception in Portsmouth dated 22 November 1891 shows that Melchiorre Delfico contributed £150 to the cost of the construction of niches in the chapel for the future burial of himself and his family.
Melchiorre Delfico died on 22 December 1895 in Portsmouth
, England
.
His uncle was the economist Melchiorre Delfico.
Teramo
Teramo is a city and comune in the central Italian region of Abruzzo, the capital of the province of Teramo.The city, from Rome, is situated between the highest mountains of the Apennines and the Adriatic coast...
, Italy – 22 December 1895 in
Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
) was an artist, composer, singer, conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
, writer, librettist
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
and a master of the Neapolitan
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
art of caricature
Caricature
A caricature is a portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness. In literature, a caricature is a description of a person using exaggeration of some characteristics and oversimplification of others.Caricatures can be...
who inspired, among others, Carlo Pellegrini
Carlo Pellegrini
Carlo Pellegrini "Ape", was an Italian caricaturist, born in Capua of aristocratic stock. His father came from an ancient land-owning family, while his mother was descended from the Medici. From 1869 to 1889 he was a caricaturist for Vanity Fair magazine, a leading journal of London Society...
.
Melchiorre Delfico, the 'Prince of Caricaturists', is best remembered today for his caricature
Caricature
A caricature is a portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness. In literature, a caricature is a description of a person using exaggeration of some characteristics and oversimplification of others.Caricatures can be...
s of notable personalities, both in his native Italy
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...
and later in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, where he worked under the name 'Delfico' for Vanity Fair, a society magazine. Among the many characters portrayed by Delfico's agile and ironic pen were emperors, nobles and prelates, artists and critics from the world of opera and theatre, and above all his great friend Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
, who knew him as a musician but who also enjoyed his caricatures.
Biography
One of nine children born to Gregorio and Marina De Filippis Delfico, the Delficos were an aristocraticAristocracy
Aristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...
family from Teramo
Teramo
Teramo is a city and comune in the central Italian region of Abruzzo, the capital of the province of Teramo.The city, from Rome, is situated between the highest mountains of the Apennines and the Adriatic coast...
in Italy
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...
. In his autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
, Delfico says that as a child he was taught the Liberal Arts, learning Music from the age of seven. Also according to the autobiography, in 1835, then 10 years, he discovered a "penchant for caricature." In 1839, at age 14, he commenced the formal study of Art in Teramo under Pasquale Della Monica.
In 1841, aged 16, Delfico moved to Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
to commence his studies in the Humanities under the guidance of the renowned professor and Latin poet Antonio Mirabelli. At this time the young Delfico began writing poetry and painting, but his great love was music. In 1844 he composed his first musical work, The Jailer of 1793, to a libretto by Domenico Bolognese. In the summer of 1845 this was staged at the Teatro Nuovo. In 1847 Delfico's father died.
According to his autobiography, from 1847 Delfico had already begun to sell his cartoons, often receiving a request from a client who wished to be caricatured. But at this time caricature was still a hobby for Delfico, and probably the idea of turning it into an opportunity to earn a living pulled against his aristocratic upbringing, despite the fact that he actually needed the money to support himself. He published his first printed caricature in 1855 in an Italian pictorial publication named Omnibus, founded by the journalist
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
and critic Vincenzo Torelli. Delfico composed and staged two further plays at this time, The Husband of One Hour in 1850, and The Board of Recruiters of 1853.
Delfico first met the composer Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
in 1857 when he visited Naples for the staging of Simon Boccanegra
Simon Boccanegra
Simon Boccanegra is an opera with a prologue and three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the play Simón Bocanegra by Antonio García Gutiérrez....
. Delfico's uncle, Baron Genovese, was a passionate music lover, a good singer and a great friend of Verdi's, and he presented his nephew to the composer; from that meeting onwards Delfico became a close friend of Verdi's, immortalizing him in cartoons and caricatures. The 1860s and 1870s were a period of great artistic creativity for Delfico, who published many caricatures and albums of caricatures. It is claimed that in the 1860s he moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and worked for Punch
Punch (magazine)
Punch, or the London Charivari was a British weekly magazine of humour and satire established in 1841 by Henry Mayhew and engraver Ebenezer Landells. Historically, it was most influential in the 1840s and 50s, when it helped to coin the term "cartoon" in its modern sense as a humorous illustration...
magazine, but no evidence has been found to support this claim. Delfico produced caricatures for Vanity Fair, a British society magazine, in the early 1870s. However, later in the 1870s his interest in caricature decreased, and he returned to a professional career in music as a conductor, and at one time appeared as a tenor to save a musical season that had been threatened with ruin. During this period he wrote the libretto and score for two comic operas, The Master Bombardone (1870) and The Return to Paris After the War (1872), as well as two musicals, The Fair and The Lightning (1876), his last musical work.
Delfico's biographers tell us that during his later years his life was marked by a deep melancholy and infinite sadness following the death in September 1884 of his eldest son John in his early twenties, and his daughter Bianca aged just eight years, both to the cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
which scourged Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
at that time. In December 1889 his young wife Concetta Sposito also died, leaving him with a brood of children, some of whom were still quite young. A document of the Royal Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception in Portsmouth dated 22 November 1891 shows that Melchiorre Delfico contributed £150 to the cost of the construction of niches in the chapel for the future burial of himself and his family.
Melchiorre Delfico died on 22 December 1895 in Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
His uncle was the economist Melchiorre Delfico.
Albums of caricatures
- Il Carnevale del 1861
- Mondo vecchio. Mondo nuovo, Album di caricature in 24 tavole, litografie a colori, 1861
- Album Per Ridere, 1869
- Strenna dello Stenterello, 1874
- Pompei, 1891