Today I wanted to introduce you to an AMAZING Italian artist, John Edmund Califano. I discovered this artist at an antiques fair many years ago and fell in love with his vivid landscapes that lure you into the pastoral scene.

Califano was born on December 5th, 1862 in Rome, Italy where he studied under the master Domenico Morelli. Drawn to landscapes he no doubt was influenced by the Italian countryside.

In 1880, he exhibited in Naples, Italy where we received the gold medal at the exhibition.

In 1881, Califano came to the United States where he lived in Chicago. This gave him the opportunity to show his art at the Art Institute of Chicago (1907). He also exhibited at the National Academy of Design in NYC in 1897-99.

In 1915 he headed west to California, living in San Francisco and Van Nuys until June 15, 1946.

Born December 5, 1862 in Rome, where he was a student of Domenico Morelli, John Edmund Califano became a landscape artist, especially noted for his scenes of California and Italy. In 1881, he came to the United States and lived in Chicago until 1908. By 1915, he was in San Francisco and spent the last years of his life in Van Nuys, where he died on June 15, 1946.

Italy, while known for its Renaissance-Baroque art, was also the breeding ground of many talented 19th-20th century landscape painters. We’ll be featuring another, Nettis on a future post.

While Califano did not receive the fame of some contemporaries in my opinion his work is worthy of a spot in many museums.

It goes up at auction from time to time…You can see more of his paintings here (on another great art resource)

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